The Sentinels Of Midnight : The Stone King I
by Denigoddess2001
Summary: Long before the Roman Empire or the pyramids of Egypt, fantastical creatures ruled the night and enslaved Humanty. A warrior torn between love and honor, a woman caught between destiny and fate and a Gargoyle shamaness must bring about a better world. A
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Gargoyles are property of Buena Vista/ Disney. They do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, so please don't sue. However, all original characters are property of DenigoddessMMI.  
  
Please send all flames, praise, commentary and questions to Denigoddess2001yahoo.com  
  
Author: Denigoddess2001  
  
Addy: Denigoddess2001yahoo.com  
  
Fandom: Gargoyles  
  
Saga: The Sentinels of Midnight   
  
Episode: The Stone King I  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Date: May 02, 2004  
  
All thoughts or psionic communications are contained in brackets. [ :D ]  
  
Author's notes:  
  
I began this story in the winter of 2002. It had been a horrendous year for me. Now, two years later, this story is finally complete (sigh of relief!!!!) This story was the cathartic focus for me to bring myself to wellness. Over time, this tale has taken many twists and turns that I never anticipated (i.e. the dunking Scene between Skylaris and Utakku...where did that come from?!) It reflects and refracts the joy, the fury, anguish and elation I felt as I penned every word. It is a story of Magick, political intrigue, loyalty, action and romance. Above all, it tells the tale of a true love that survives every insurmountable obstacle and the chance for redemption. For without knowing that kind of love, I never could have written this tale. May all who read this take this story into their hearts and learn the lessons of what constant, abiding love TRULY means. It is not about self -but others. It never dies or fades, it remains constant and steadfast as long as time endures. To my readers, I can only say this: choose a destiny, do not resign yourself to fate. Never give up, never give in. Bend, but never break. Never forget how love brings us all to life, awakens our souls and brings us each into completion.  
  
Preface...  
  
"Fire shall reign from the balcony of Amor  
  
Engulfing the Fire Queen  
  
Kissing her love, she shall become as he  
  
Joined for all time with the Stone King.  
  
So shall he rule on in the realm  
  
All creatures shall bow in his name  
  
Wielding and embracing fire  
  
All surveyed shall be his domain."  
  
-Ancient DeMahri Prophecy  
  
The Epoch of Twilight, the Age of Taurus guided an archaic world. Before to the Tower of Babel or the time of the pyramids, fantastic creatures ruled in the night and walked amongst men. The eons of an antediluvian era have long since faded from the remembrance of Simianites. Long thought lost to History's memory, recollections of those times survived only in obscure fragments of legends and fable. In the deserts of the modern Middle East, an ancient Temple, discovered by an archeological team revealed archaic writings long lost to the modern world for thousands of years.   
  
Because of Wren Summers-Nightkind's expansion of the Research and Editing department, Xanatos Publishing in Linoma Bluffs expanded into not only into the Metaphysical and Magickal arms of the publishing industry, but also that of ancient texts long thought elapsed from the indication of olden times. The company realized that he early twenty-first century, henceforth, hails persons other than Human. Ancient, primordial deities gathered followers and sought acceptance in a work filled with Science and Technology. Antediluvian Magickal wellsprings flowed forth into the world, refreshed by the recent parting of the veil between the Abyss the corporeal world.  
  
Earth no longer remained exclusive to the traditional religions dominating the world for millennia. Now, divinities such as Gaia, Skylaris, Tiamat, Aradia, Ares, Enki and other antediluvian powers sought a foothold in this relentlessly changing realm. New pantheons formed and competed for worshippers amongst not only the Demifolke, but also the Human followers of Allah, Jehovah and Buddha. Xanatos Publishing saw an expansive, untapped market and thus, spearheaded an initiative to bring people the ancient writings of those deities reemerging in present days. Many craved and yearned for a way to survive these tumultuous times.  
  
The writings remained enigmas to the archeologists who found it, save for the woman (placed in charged by C.E.O. David Xanatos) of procuring the unfathomable manuscripts. Hair the hue of raven's wing and eyes brown as darkened amber, she smiled as she snatched it from the hands of the unscrupulous archeologist who decided to sell the writings to a greedy, unappreciative art collector. All that remained in the tomb robber's hands was a handful of damson sand and a wisp of lavender smoke. The desert spirit garbed in dark violet veils smiled and knew that all was good in the world. The capricious Child Of Oberon knew that she held the most ancient of books in her hands. Daria Damson guarded zealously the sacred manuscripts entrusted to her care.  
  
The Skylarianite Temple Priestesses from Limona Bluffs, accompanying the Child of Oberon, guarded the ancient tome with their lives. Painstakingly, under the watchful eyes of Xanatos' top researcher, Wren Summers-Nightkind, Daria Damson, and the Priestesses transcribed the inhuman, otherworldly letters into the alphabet into Present-day English. Sit, Gentle   
  
Reader, and let your ears be the first hearing of lost tales from the times of myth and legend. From the primordial cant of the Kah'El (Great Dragon, my friend, is the literal translation of this DeMahri word), come tales from beyond the dawn of time. No longer eluding the grasp of History, they are a gift to you from the Goddess, Skylaris. These writings are no longer solely reserved for Gargoyle clan or tribe, but meant for all beings to enjoy, treasure and embrace in this brave, New Age. Let you be the first ones to hearing and seeing the tales meant only for the Children of Stone. Become enthralled with this epic saga wilder than the blowing sands of the Sahara. Lose yourself in this magnificent tale of stone, sand, sorcery, war and love.  
  
In the earliest of ages, men lived centuries rather than decades. One such man lived to almost see a millennium. He was a mighty warrior of power and wisdom sprung from the lineage of Adam. Of Adam's loins, his great-grandson, Kenan ruled one of the groups of Man. Through hard work and great diligence his family grew in number and prosperity, soon becoming a formidable clan. Within a hundred years of his birth, his clan became a tribe. The tribe of Kenan was a nomadic lot that wandered the deserts from Akkadia to Mesopotamia. Within half a millennium, they were one of the largest tribes in the entire realm. Yet, they were one of the last free, wild tribes.  
  
Alas, those were dark times that fell upon this earth, reader! There were others of Adam's blood who choose darkness over light. One of Adam's own chose spilling his brother's blood so that it disappeared like water upon thirsty ground. All-Father, Maker of All Things, cursed him so that daylight made his skin burn like tinder and become ash. No food or drink sated his hunger; only the life-force of innocents relieved him of the gnawing agony that haunted him. He wandered throughout the world until The Dark Serpent found him. She Of Many Names: Katoramet of the DeMahri, Tiamat or Lillith to the humans chose the wondering outcast to satisfy her whims. She embraced him and they supped on the unlife flowing though her veins. Katoramet taught the eldest son of Adam many dark things.  
  
She made him heinous and unholy. He became Utakku -the first amongst the Soulless. Confused? One of the soulless is a Vampire. Utakku begat many progeny until they were great in number. The Soulless Ones designed and constructed great cities. They feared little but fire and sun. They brought the nomadic tribes to their knees with the exception of two: The Tribe of Azazel and the The Tribe of Kenan. These two proud, noble peoples were the final bastions of freedom standing against a world of darkness and death. With each passing season, more humans became cattle for the growing hungers of Utakku's minions and the free, wild tribes grew fewer in number.  
  
Ah, but there is more to this epic, Dear Reader. They were savage times before the laws of Moses, Nimrod, or Hammerabi. Only brutal strength brought order to an untamed world. Azazel and Kenan worked diligently toward an amalgamation that would unite their two tribes into one massive force to stand against Utakku and his Soulless armies. Therefore, in the age of Taurus, to protect the last vestiges of free Humanity, they two great chieftains signed a treaty. Azazel promised his first son, Halmu, in marriage to the last of Kenan's daughters. This did not set well for all concerned. Read fiercely and well, gentle reader as the tale unfolds.  
  
Prologue  
  
Circa 5000 B.C. Somewhere in ancient Middle East.........  
  
Kenan paced frantically in his tent. The shrill screams of his main wife filled the desert oasis and reminded him of the of the sounds of ten wounded camels. Little or nothing blocked out her cries of agony as she brought his fourteenth child into the world. He fell to his knees and prayed in the ancient language of his people. He begged All-Father as he fell on his face to the ground, 'O All-Father, let Tizir bear me a son."  
  
A handmaiden garbed in sand-hued robes made her way into the tent. "Sire! Sire!"  
  
He abruptly rose to his knees and then jumped to his feet. "You have news?"  
  
"Yes, Sire!" The girl babbled excitedly. "Queen Tizir has given birth to a girl-child."  
  
"A girl?" He voice was a quiet, deadpan response. "Not a boy?"  
  
"No, you have another daughter."  
  
"All-Father has cursed me." Kenan muttered. "He makes me pay for the sins of my Great Grandfather."  
  
"Sire?" The Handmaiden inquired obviously confused by her ruler's dismay.  
  
"Nothing!" Kenan waved his hand dismissively. "Bring the sorceress to me. Tell her I wish to know my daughter's future!"  
  
The Handmaiden bowed low before her chieftain. "Yes, Sire. At once!"  
  
Kenan sat and drank from the golden goblet filled with wine. The desert tribal chief mused over his plight. Fourteen daughters and no male heir meant that all he had worked so hard to build would easily fall into the hands of the Soulless Ones. At night, the men of the tribe lit great bonfires around their oasis and kept constant vigilance. More than once, Utakku's minions had used their hideous gifts of flight to sweep down upon other tribes and steal their women and their children. They simply fed upon the warriors and left them as dried husks in the desert. Without a son to take his throne, Kenan knew that his kingdom would fall into chaos, as many would vie for the crown. This brought the ruler much sorrow.  
  
"My Lord?" A velvety voice lilted into his tent. "I am here to do your bidding."  
  
"Niza, to me!" He barked. He motioned the scarlet-clad sorceress to join him beside the fire. Dark eyes of sapphire stared at the monarch through falling tendrils of ebony. "I have use of your talents this night."  
  
"Father, I have brought my stones as I thought you might require." She bowed her head demurely. "Ask of me what you will."  
  
"I wish to know the future of my kingdom." Kenan growled. "Who will rule after me?"  
  
"I shall cast the stones and they shall tell all." Niza flashed the Chieftain a charming smile. She laid out a leather mat on the floor of the tent. Niza withdrew a small leather pouch from beneath the crimson silk veils that garbed her petite frame. Dainty hands reached into the leather purse and the clattering of stones filled the tent. She grabbed a handful of semi-precious amethyst engraved with archaic symbols. She spoke words that sounded quite inhuman and let her hand throw the stones upon the mat.   
  
She waved her hand over the stones and closed her eyes. Niza's almond eyes snapped open. "No, it cannot be! It's impossible."  
  
"What is it?" Kenan urgently asked. "What do you see?"  
  
"It is not what I see, Father, but what I hear." She muttered. "Your kingdom shall perish beneath the sands of the desert and will be lost unless she marries another chieftain's son."  
  
"I already know this. I had hoped to merely form an alliance but it looks as though my heir will be from the tribe of Azazel." Kenan muttered. "His son Halmu is greedy for power. Yet, if it will keep our tribe free, then let Fate make it so."  
  
"A wise decision, Sire." Niza purred.  
  
Kenan barked an order to a nearby guard to send for his the tribe's greatest Man-At-Arms. The young man nodded quickly and did as he was bid. Within a few heartbeats, the guard returned with a creature of the night well known to the Tribe of Kenan. He motioned to one of his concubine's to pour two goblets of wine. "Gesham, sit beside me on my blankets and take council with me."  
  
Deep, rich, and resounding, a warrior's voice filled the tent. "Yes, Sire."  
  
Kenan coldly survey the cluster of guards, servants and concubines that filled the tent. "Leave us."  
  
"But, Sire!" The young guard exclaimed. "You will have only one warrior beside you."  
  
"One warrior is all I need when he is Gesham." Kenan glared at the young man for his ignorance. "Now go."   
  
The young man bowed deeply and made a hasty exit.  
  
The aging chieftain surveyed the strapping warrior who joined him on his blankets. Skin the creamy, warm color of desert sand was complimented by flaxen hair worn in the customary fashion of kind. Gesham's straight golden-haired tresses were pulled back and fastened with a leather thong in the middle of the back of his head while the rest of his hair fell free down the middle of his broad back. A pronounced brow ridge marked the creature's brow and sheltered a piercing gaze the hue of amber akin to blazing, brilliant sunset. As was the custom of his people, Gesham's smile revealed two polished fire rubies embedded into the white canines. Wings with manila struts and taupe folds cloaked the warrior giving him an aire of imposing presence. Four talons grasped the wine goblet and the warrior sipped gingerly the strong wine. His solid, lengthy tail twitched as he waited silently for his lord to speak.  
  
Kenan grasped the Gargoyle's wrist in a warrior's clasp. "It has been some time since we had share spirits together, old friend."  
  
"Not so old, Sire." A deep chuckle erupted from the warrior. "You and I have counted the same seasons in passing."  
  
"I am coming upon my fiftieth year, Gesham. I am not long for this world." Kenan's melancholy tones became silent as he sipped his wine. A heavy sigh escaped the monarch. "There is much that must be put in order to ensure the survival of both our peoples."  
  
"Agreed." Flaxen locks swayed as the Gargoyle nodded in agreement.  
  
"If you have not yet heard, Gesham, Tizir has given me yet another daughter."  
  
"You are truly blessed by your god to have so many children." A hardy slap on Kenan's back from the Warrior nearly sent the chieftain's wine goblet flying from his grasp.  
  
"No, it is a curse, I tell you." Faded brown eyes flashed with anger that reminded Gesham of a younger Kenan many seasons past. " My time grows short and I have no heir to protect the tribe once I'm gone. Each year the sycophants grow more powerful. They will enslave DeMahri and Human alike. That can not be allowed to happen."  
  
"What will you do?" Gesham asked.  
  
"I have sent an envoy to the tribe of Azazel to arrange a marriage between the girl-child and their oldest son. I did so before Tizir gave birth. I knew All-Father would curse me with yet another daughter. My nephew shall rule as regent until she comes of age and her husband takes his rightful place as chieftain."  
  
"I will be loyal to him." The Gargoyle vowed.  
  
A gnarled sword-hand clasped Gesham's shoulder. "I know you will be, but, I have a special task for you...a favor for an old friend."  
  
"You need only ask, Sire." Gesham set down his wine goblet. Amber eyes stared intently into the weary gaze of Kenan. "How can I serve?"  
  
"There are those from the outside that will hear of my newest daughter's importance. They will seek to kill her. She is only a girl but still important to everyone's survival. Take her into your care, Gesham. Protect her with your life and keep her safe. Teach her the ways of your people and the night so that she won't be easy prey to the those sons-of-dogs that seek our demise."  
  
"I give you my word, Sire. I will do as you ask." He knew that his chieftain spoke little but needed much from him this night.  
  
"You and I have been friends a long time, Gesham." Kenan thought of younger days when a young hatching had been the playmate and guardian of a young prince meant to inherit wealth and title. "How long?"  
  
"The turn of fifty winters, Sire."  
  
"Yes, it's been a long time and you have shown me the ways of your clan." The Chieftain took another sip of the rich, heavy wine. "Do you not have a Seer amongst your people?"  
  
"Yes, Sire. We do." Gesham referred to the Matriarch of the clan. Arana was gifted with sight beyond sight and in earlier times had been a fearless warrior.  
  
"Can she divine the ways of that which has yet to be?"  
  
"On occasion, Sire." Gesham's brow furrowed as he considered Kenan's odd inquiry. "May I ask why?"  
  
"Send for her and bring her to my private chambers this night." The old man rose stiffly from the rich carpet beneath them. "Have her bring her Magick ...and tell no one of this."  
  
"As you wish." Gesham rose quickly to his feet and quickly steadied the teetering monarch. Age and wine were not a good combination for a man of such advanced years. "We shall be there before the moon zeniths."  
  
"Excellent."  
  
Under the dark of night Gesham escorted the wizened Dame discreetly to the Chieftain's quarters. The young warrior led his warden quickly and quietly into Kenan's chambers. It perplexed him greatly to see the chieftain there holding his newborn daughter. "We are here as you command, Sire."  
  
"Good." Kenan's curt reply seemed out of sorts even for the stoic ruler. He focused his gaze upon the imposing cloaked figure. "Remove your cloak and let me see the face of the one who speaks my daughter's fate."  
  
"As you wish, Sire." The voice answered softly. Two taloned hands came from the hemmed sleeves of the coarse cloak and reached for the hood. It slowly fell to her shoulders and the sight that met Kenan's still stole his breath after decades of familiarity.  
  
The aged ruler felt his heart stop as he saw the head of a jackal sitting upon broad shoulders. Covered in mottle fur of forest green and earth tones, Kenan felt as though her were standing before Anubis, god of the dead. There was some of Gesham's clan that resembled the ancient gods and remained out of sight of easily frightened Humans. Through the still-open flap of the tent, golden moonlight illuminated fangs and canines worn by sand and age. Her wings gave the clan elder the appearance of a cloaked demon. "Arana."  
  
"Kenan." She returned the brief greeting.  
  
"I want you to read my daughter's future. I feel there is something more afoot than what the Fates are revealing to me this night." Kenan brushed back a black curl from the infant's brow. "She bears the mark of the crescent moon upon her brow." He pointed to the almost invisible birthmark at the edge of her forehead. "She has been chosen for something more than what Niza is telling me."  
  
"We shall see, Sire." Arana smirked. She took her belt a worn leather bag and laid it on the floor. She sat before the closed pouch and quickly opened it to reveal several polished stones worn smooth by desert storms. Kenan didn't understand the markings upon the stones but he knew them to be ancient symbols of the DeMahri tongue. She grabbed the stones between her palms and shook them fiercely. She growled something that sounded feral and inhuman. As abruptly as she had grabbed them, Arana cast them onto the carpet. She watched them scattered like rolling marbles until they finally stood still. The aged Dame leaned over them and one crooked talon tapped her lips in contemplation.  
  
A grim chuckle escaped the jackal-headed Gargoyle. "Oh, you are an astute one, Sire. There is more to this human female than to be some prince's whore."  
  
"Arana!" Gesham barked harshly. "Watch your tongue."  
  
"Gesham." Arana turned to him and patiently explained to him as though he were a young hatchling. "She is not to be an instrument of the human gods, but of the Great Lady Dragon herself."  
  
"What?" Gesham felt as though all the air had been sucked from his lungs. "Skylaris never meddles in human affairs."  
  
"She will with this one." Arana's worn fangs gleamed in the moonlight as she cast him a knowing smile. "This child is important to many...Gargoyle and Human alike."  
  
"How?" Kenan peered intently at the stones.  
  
"Here." Arana pointed to the first rune. "This is the symbol for our beloved Goddess, Skylaris. She is very interested in your girl child. The Lady has rarely intervenes in Human affairs; how odd." She let her gnarled talons brush along the carpet until they touched the second rune. "This is the symbol for leadership and next to it lies the symbol for a Gargoyle Warrior. And next to that lies a piece of stone skin. I think that she is somehow connected to the Stone King."  
  
"He is but a myth." Gesham scoffed. "He is little more than a fairy tale to keep hatchings happy before sunrise."  
  
"You say that now, young warrior...but I have seen many things." Was Arana's cryptic reply. "He IS coming. He IS here and he shall save our people and rule over the Soulless Ones and Humans that have enslaved us for so long. This girl child must take him into her life and her bed as her master if you humans are to survive."  
  
"We have always protected you while you sleep." Kenan curtly reposted. "Our tribe has kept the Oath of Promise with your clan for well-nigh five centuries."  
  
"Yes, and yet you some of you consider us little more than dogs sniffing around your ankles." Arana spat. She took several deep breaths. "I know you are a good man and a tribute to your kind. But there will come a time when earth and stone shall know one another and a new kith shall rise. And they will flow from the blood of Adam and be etched from the Stone Scales of Skylaris."  
  
"Impossible!" Kenan's bellow filled his bedchamber.   
  
"With Skylaris, all that can be imagined will come to pass." The exotic lilt of the Seer's voice brought an eerie calm to the tension in the tent. "I do not lie, Sire. Your daughter may be the Stone King's consort, she shall give rise to a race greater than either of our kinds."  
  
"No human woman can survive such a union."  
  
"So you say, Kenan." Arana smirked. "It's either that or your tribe falls to Uttaku's minions."  
  
With that, the aged Matriarch cloaked herself in gabardine wings and took leave of Gesham and Kenan. The ominous veil of damnation fell between the two blood brothers. A sand-hued taloned hand rested upon the patriarch's shoulder. "Fear not, Sire. I shall protect her with my life and she will not be easy prey for any man's desire, vampire's hunger or a DeMahri's need. I give you my word."  
  
Yet, that gave Kenan little comfort.  
  
Niza listened in the dark behind the folds of the tent. Her deep blue eyes widened in incredulity as she heard the old conjurer cast her bones for the monarch and his pet golem. [Now, the DeMahri are involved. This is not a good thing. This could wreck all!]  
  
She let her tattooed hand make it's way through her flimsy veils until her finger found their way to a tawny leather pouch hanging from her hip. She pulled out a feather that was a majestic hue of lava. It glowed in the starless darkness that canopied the desert that night. The ancient words of the Draconic tongue fell from her lips as she called upon the Serpent Goddess.  
  
"Tiamat, goddess of deep waters  
  
Mother of Chaos' Daughters  
  
Hear me well and grant me plea  
  
Let thy minions serve and come to me.  
  
Let the firesnake from your sacred place  
  
Come and meet me in this place  
  
And let his tongue take upon gift of speech.  
  
This blessing I earnestly now beseech."  
  
The feather gleamed and caught fire in the sorceress' hand. It lengthened in her hand until it became a blazing column of flame in the palm. Two eyes of saffron came to life in the column of flame and it writhed in a dance older than time. Niza wisely stood back as the column took on the form of a long serpent swayed before her.  
  
"Your mistress has heard you and found you worthy, Niza of Amor. What is your wish?" The languid hiss was accompanied by the flickering of lengthy black forked tongue.  
  
"Take a message to ruler of the Azazel's Tribe. Say to him in my voice. Do you understand?" Niza asked the demon sharply.  
  
"I live to serve, O Great favored one of water goddess."  
  
"To Halmu, son of Azazel, and ruler of the said tribe, greetings. My Love, there is more at work than what we anticipated. Our plans may well be in jeopardy. Kenan has brought in one of his stone pets and now is protecting the girl-child. Our beloved goddess' wretched mother is involved in this. She must not take away our victory. We are the rightful rulers of this tribe. Once you marry the girl-child and she is given to Uttaku, then the gift of endless life shall be ours and the world will belong to us. We must kill the girl soon while she is weak. The DeMahri will make it impossible to reach her. Please, my Love, send me word soon."  
  
She cleared her throat and focused her scrutiny upon the firesnake. "Take those words to Halmu before the next sennight."  
  
"I do as you command, Sorceress." With a brilliant flash and a burst of heavy, acrid black smoke, the firesnake vanished from sight. Niza wrapped her cloak around her as the desert chill sank into her skin. To displease Tiamat and Uttaku would bring destruction to her best-laid plans. Without their aid, her designs of power would be impossible to fulfill. Once Halmu served his purpose, he'd enjoyed one final sunrise before he joined Tiamat in her acidic abyss. Niza quietly surveyed her plan with great pleasure. She always appreciated a good challenge and a velvety laugh filled the silent night.  
  
And two eyes gleamed with silver fire in the dunes only yards away. The rich tones of the sorceress' laugh harmonized with an abrasive titter.  
  
Sixteen Turns of the Seasons....  
  
Under the light of full, argent moon, Ashatsinu pulled back the taut bowstring and aimed toward the moving target gliding effortlessly in the moonlit sky. She raised her bow so that she stared directly down the shaft of the arrow with her victim in sight. His wings extended to cloak the entire sky within their fawn-colored folds. Ashatsinu's dark eyes narrowed in dogged determination as the arrogant sire somersaulted in mid-flight. A rich chuckle filled the night air.  
  
"Fall from the sky like the dog you are, Stone Demon!" Came the muttered words through gritted teeth as she released the arrow into flight. Its path was straight and true as it coursed through the hot desert air. The soft "whissst" was the only indicator of what was about to pierce the Gargoyle's chest. With a flick of wing and a quarter-turn, the Sand-hued Sire caught the flying projectile in his hands.  
  
A string of curses filled the night as Ashatsinu's anger found his ears. With effortless grace, his talons skimmed the shifting sand as he landed only a few inches before her. Camel-hued wings cloaked around the broad shoulders of the flaxen-haired Gargoyle as he offered her the captured arrow. "Your aim is good, Highness, but you must use different feathers to guide your arrows if you wish them to be silent."  
  
"You are too good, Gesham." She gave him a grudging smile. "But finding the feathers of a pure white dove this time of the season is well-nigh impossible."  
  
Gesham studied his apt pupil. She remained the exception rather than the rule regarding his view of humanity. Most of the women from the tribe of Gesham were petite and rounded, made for bearing children. Ashatsinu stood a head taller than many of the women and eye-to-eye with most of the warriors. She lacked the curves of Kenan's women; her body was lean and slender. Years of rigorous training with Gesham sculpted her body into one of pure cord and muscle. The men of the tribe found Kenan's youngest daughter strange and bizarre. He kept with the traditions of her people and refused for her to learn the art of bladed weaponry. She chose to wear men's tunics rather than the flowing veils favored by wives, sisters, and daughters.  
  
Gesham knew that tribal law forbade women wearing their hair unbound and uncovered. Ashatsinu brazenly wore a style chopped at the chin and many found it unbecoming of a daughter of the Chieftain. Women shunned her and men mocked her for her anomalous ways. Gesham knew she hid her loneliness behind a bow and arrow, a spear, or a staff. By day, she slept within the caves deep beneath the oasis and rose instinctually at dusk to greet her mentors.  
  
Gesham sighed. [I have taken much away from her to protect her: her femininity, her friends, and the closeness of tribe. Yet, she is a warrior that surpasses them all. You have made me proud, Ashatsinu.]  
  
"You speak your thoughts too easily, Mentor." A rich feminine voice broke Gesham's train of thought.   
  
"Arana has taught you too well in the ways of mind and heartmagick."  
  
"It isn't meant for Humans." She pointed to the crescent moon birthmark that marked her brow. Gesham remembered how she had demanded upon her passage into woman hood that it be tattooed according to Gargoyle tradition with the metallic inks that Dames and Sires alike used to adorn their bodies. The ink was said to bless its wearer with special gifts. The legend seemed to extended to the princess entrusted to Gesham's care. "But, then again, I was never meant to be purely human."  
  
"You ARE all that is human, Ashatsinu." Gesham quickly reminded her. "Or all that should be."  
  
She turned her head to those in the valley below. He hand pointed to the huge bonfires that surrounded the camp. "There may be my kinsmen but they aren't my family. My heart is DeMahri, as are my passions and my thoughts. If I thought Skylaris would grant it, I'd beg her to make me a Dame."  
  
"You are who you are for good reason." Gesham laid talons upon his pupil's shoulders. "A DeMahri is more than talon and fang, wing and tail. You are right. Your heart and spirit are those of a Child of Stone. But, you may nigh find your home amongst us." He motioned back to the bonfires. "You are to be married next summer to Halmu, chieftain of the Azazel tribe. It is time you assumed your rightful role as Kenan's daughter amongst your people."  
  
"That life isn't for me."  
  
"What other life is there?" Amber eyes gleamed with gold fire. His tan taloned hand motioned in the direction of the Human's camp. "These people are your kin. They are depending upon you to embrace your destiny to save them from the Soulless Ones. You are the one of prophecy that shall join with their savior."  
  
"Halmu is a heartless, cruel dog with less grace than a camel and the tongue of a serpent." Ashatsinu spat. "He has no honor in battle. He is responsible for wiping out an entire village of men, women, and children because they refused to pay him tribute in exchange for his protection. They call him the Stone King for good reason."  
  
"You are of royal lineage, Princess." Came Gesham's stern reproof with more than a hint of a growl. "You were chosen by the gods before you were born and placed above other women. No mere mortal woman will serve her people better or save more lives than you will. You must save your tribe. To do any less will condemn them to agonizing existence. What you must do is a great honor bestowed upon you"  
  
"I can still protect my people without having to become the chattel of a man."  
  
"Your father would consider your words blasphemy. You sound far too much like Arana." Gesham looked away from his young student. It seared a hole in his chest knowing that she would be nothing more than concubine, child-bearer and concierge to an obdurate, barbarous ape so typical of his kind. "Ashatsinu, you must leave behind the Gargoyle Way for it is not the Way of Men. Men rule and women submit. It is your gods' will that you marry, accept your fate and be a paragon amongst women."  
  
"No Dame would ever accept such an enslaving, ridiculous notion." Ashatsinu slung her bow over her shoulder and replaced the last of her arrows into the quiver hanging from her back. "You taught me the ways of the DeMahri far too well."  
  
"Much to my dismay." He mused. Ashatsinu's keen eyesight saw the smirk on Gesham's face that normally would have been veiled by the shadows. He assumed the pensive gaze that hallmarked so many of Skylaris' stone children. "What divine streak of providence could alter your destiny, Princess?"  
  
"I can live with the clan!" Ashatsinu exclaimed quickly. "I can protect them by day and hunt. At night, I can be a warden in the clan rookery. That role often falls to human women past marrying age. I'm almost seventeen, Gesham. I'm too old to be a wife and mother. By serving the clan during the day, they will be guardians to my people at night."  
  
The Gargoyle shook his head sadly. "You dream great dreams and see many paths. Such is the gift of your kind. We Gargoyles think sequentially as is our way. You clutch desperate hopes to your heart, Ashatsinu. Nay. In the eyes of the clan, you are still a hatchling." Tan talons brushed back an errant black strand that fell across her copper sun-kissed skin. Gesham's straight, flaxen hair fell to frame his tawny face so that she couldn't see his dismayed expression. "I have come to a decision about the next stage of your training."  
  
"Will I finally be allowed to take part of the Rite of Passage and become a fully recognized Dame?" She asked eagerly.  
  
"No, 'Shatsu." Gesham's grim reply caused the glowing enthusiasm in her eyes to dim significantly. The princess cringed with his use of his favorite pet name. "You shall be traveling with Arana to the South. She is going to escort you to a village under Kenan's protection. There you shall learn the feminine arts and you shall put aside your warrior ways."  
  
"No! You can't do this to me!" Ashatsinu threw down her Gargoyle-crafted bow in a fit of temper. "That's so unfair. I have trained long and hard for recognition in the clan. I'm only one season away from being considered an adult."  
  
"You are promised to Halmu as his wife and the dowry has been paid." Gesham replied sternly. He held up his hand to silence further protests. "I shall hear nothing more of it. Think of your tribe and what your marriage will bring them. There is more in this world than your desires."  
  
"I didn't ask for this!" Ashatsinu angrily stomped her foot. "Please, Gesham, don't make me go. Don't make me leave my home and my clan. I belong here as much as sand does to the desert."  
  
Gesham closed his amber eyes to block out the plaintive pleas that twisted his heart into painful contortions. He sighed heavily in silent agreement. Ashatsinu had long since left the world of men. He had educated the young princess far too well. She was neither a child of the sun or a daughter of the night. She walked between two worlds, earth and stone, and belonged to neither one. The heaviness of her fate wrenched a feeling of utter helplessness as his heart and mind registered the psionic waves of anger and anguish coming from Ashatsinu. A tawny talon crooked and gently lifted her chin. Flashing dark eyes clashed with blazing amber. The Gargoyle warrior saw two single tears streak down her bronzed cheeks. Those tears became more precious than pearls as they marked her with the heartache she wore.   
  
The proud golden warrior turned away so that the moonlight didn't reflect upon the teardrops threatening to fall from his amber eyes. "Then, do it for me, Princess."  
  
"Gesham," Ashatsinu whispered. Her callused hand gently clasped his wrist. "My heart belongs here....with yo- your clan and the night. If I am made to marry Halmu, it will kill me. I can never love him."  
  
"Love is a luxury that royalty rarely knows, Princess." He gave her a melancholy smile. "You know that you must do this. Too many enemies seek the destruction of your tribe. You have been known since birth to be the savior of your people. You shall marry the man that will protect your tribe. You have never disappointed me when you fought for the greater good."  
  
Ashatsinu heard words resound inside her mind. [Please don't disappoint me now.]  
  
"I'd give up being a princess so that I could be free to love." Ashatsinu whispered softly. Dark eyes rose to meet Gesham's gleaming amber gaze. "Love knows neither logic nor protocol. It wouldn't matter if I were a commoner or a goddess. Love springs unexpectedly anywhere it chooses."  
  
In Gargoyle fashion, the great warrior pressed his brow to hers. No words upon his tongue or hers had the ability to convey the sentiment unspoken between them. He closed his eyes to stem the burning emotions, wet and scalding, behind his eyelids. "Some are never meant to know love. Such is the way of things, Ashatsinu."  
  
Gesham felt the mass of her gaze weigh heavily upon his soul. He left her gaze to stare at the silver mood turning crimson in the sky above them. Tonight was a night that came twice a decade. It was a mating moon. Young Dames and Sires established courtships and consummated sacred, passionate unions. He studied the young virago on the edge of his peripheral vision. [Could the mating moon be stirring your blood, Princess? Surely not. Marked by the Dragon Goddess you are, this I know. Save for the crescent mark she placed upon you, you are human by birth.]  
  
"Ashatsinu, you are young-"  
  
"As are you!" The princess pointed out quickly. "Gargoyles age half the time of humans and you are my father's age. That only makes you, in body, only a few seasons older than me. So, you can't be one to truly advise me on love. How would you know anyway? You've never had a mate."  
  
"I need not to have to have taken a mate to know love." He gazed skywards toward the crimson moon above them. "The Goddess has made it that each of Her chosen have a soulmate."  
  
"She's already made it known to me!" Ashatsinu smiled. Sparkling mischief glimmered in dark eyes. "Tonight it finally came to me, Gesham."  
  
"What came to you, Princess?"  
  
"This!" With swiftness defying her human condition, Ashatsinu tightly embraced the tall warrior to her. Slender fingers found the sensitive apex where wing and back joined. Gentle swirls of her fingertips brushed along creamy ginger skin. Chirapteran wings flared to their extensive span. Fangs exposed glittered in the moonlight. Gesham's tail lashed furiously as an assault of sensual pleasure erupted between his wings and rippled outwards, engulfing him to the primal haze of yearning long suppressed within his warrior heart.   
  
"Princess!" His deep voice carried a hint of hoarseness. Tan talons deftly grasped her slim wrists. "Stop this."  
  
Ashatsinu leaned forward and brought her lips to his. The taste of exotic cloves and cinnamon fell upon her lips. She inhaled deeply of his exhilarating essence of night orchid and frankincense. A faint hint of sandalwood lingered in the air around them. A quiet, deep murmur came from her throat as the tang and scent of her tawny warrior filled her senses. A faint thrumming echoed in her ears as the blood rushed though her veins. Fiery talons of soft heat warmed Ashatsinu from her groin and reached outward to her fingertips.   
  
A wave of flushed excitement rushed over Ashatsinu and she closed her eyes to regain her equilibrium. Fleeting, scintillating images detonated in her mind's eye. Tan talons entwined in ebony tresses, flaxen hair falling across the softness of her cheek. A prehensile tail wrapped possessively around her svelte thigh. She looked into the eyes of the Sire as tawny velvet wings cloaked her. A sense of warmth and familiarity filled her mind. Joy and delight brimmed in her heart and touched her soul. She knew this soul well with its noble integrity and fiery strength. She had known it all her life and before she had ever been born. The soul of Gesham mirrored and reflected the Ashatsinu's ardent fortitude. Compassion complimented grace. Integrity extolled innocence. Virile Hunger yearned for acquiescent sensuality.  
  
Gesham roughly pushed Ashatsinu from him. "You are leaving this evening with Arana and I will hear no more on the matter."  
  
"You felt it too, Gesham. Do not lie to me."  
  
"I know what I felt, Ashatsinu." He said with a grimace. "I felt flattered that a young woman would make me the temple of her affection in her heart. "  
  
"Now, I know why." She retorted. "Gesham, I l-"  
  
"You are young and your heart deceives you, Princess." He closed amber eyes and prayed silently to his Goddess that his hollow words rang with truth, if only for Ashatsinu's sake. "I am privileged to have earned a place in your heart. Nevertheless, your heart remains empty for I feel not the same. If my kind embraced the way of children, then you have always been as a daughter to me."  
  
"Gesham," Tears filled the young woman's eyes. "You lie."  
  
He waved his hand is dismissal. His face became as stern as the stone walls of Skylaris' temple. "In time, you will understand that these supposed feelings of love are little more than childish affection. Now, go and prepare yourself for the journey." He growled. He pointed to the settlement. "Return to your father's tent, Ashatsinu. I will not dishonor your family by mentioning this to him or Halmu."  
  
She nodded mutely. She looked down at her callused hands and inspiration came to her. She removed her birthright ring from her left middle finger and clutched the skin-warmed metal in her palm. Ashatsinu undid the simple leather cord hanging around her neck that she used to hold a medallion he had given her for her fifteenth birthday. She slipped off the pendant and tucked it into the top of her tunic. She slid the golden signet ring onto the leather cord and secured it with a tight knot. "As your Princess, you are mine to command."  
  
Gesham's eyes widened to the size of twin moons at such unusual words falling from her lips. "Princess?"  
  
"You heard me." Her stern stare told him that something within her had changed. "Bow before me, Gesham."  
  
His eyes never left hers as he obeyed her decree. "By your desire."  
  
She slipped the cord over the Gargoyles head and around his brow ridges until it hung from his neck. She pulled the flaxen tresses caught by the cords so that they were free. "This is my signet ring. I give this to you as a token of my undying affection and devotion, true and steadfast."  
  
"Ashatsinu-" Gesham began.  
  
"Be quiet." She demanded. "I know that what my heart says to me is true I give this to you as a token of my undying affection and devotion, true and steadfast However, in my absence, I command you not to remove it."  
  
Gesham remained stunned. Ashatsinu had never dared to give him a command in all of her life. "Swear, Gesham, that you will not remove it upon pain of death. Every time you think of it, remember that I love you."  
  
"I swear." He declared. His eyes blazed as brightly as the hyacinth lilies that bloomed near the center of her father's oasis.  
  
"Now, we shall seal this decree. Rise." Gesham did as Ashatsinu bid him. She grabbed both of his sand-colored hands. "I seal this command with the Seal of Promise."  
  
She kissed one tan palm and then the other. The ancient words she had heard but once on the night of a mating moon came to her. "Where you go so shall I go. Where you lead I shall follow. What you become so shall I be. I will prove myself a worthy mate and protector in your eyes, Gesham. My love for you shall endure longer than the mountain stone. I swear it."  
  
"Princess...." He bowed his head as the betrothal vows came from her lips. His heart both wept and rejoiced as those words fell upon his ears. He took her slender hand in his and brought it to his lips. "The words you say.... they are not to be take lightly. Once said..."  
  
"They can never be retracted." She finished for him. "I know and I make the promise in full knowledge of its meaning."  
  
"Re'Hahl." He muttered. Her dark eyes widened slightly as her warrior uttered the ancient Draconic term-of-endearment. Ashatsinu's umber eyes locked with his brazen realgar gaze. A little gasp escaped her as his lips delicately brushed the back of her hand. His eyes never left her as his gentle kiss lingered upon her sensitive skin. His lips remained against the sensitive area of her hand. He turned her hand slowly so that he turned his lips into her palm and tenderly and branded her with a prolonged languid kiss. Gesham's voice was halfway between a hoarse groan and a primal, possessive growl. "Beware, Shatsu', I just might hold you to that promise."  
  
"I am counting on it, Gesham. What you refuse to tell me your heart betrays. I can live with this now. This matter between is far from done." Without another word, Ashatsinu squared her shoulders. She walked to her father's camp without a backward glance.  
  
She was gone.  
  
"I will never forget you, Shatsu." He murmured in the stillness of the dark.  
  
Gesham remained alone. He remained thunderstruck and intoxicated from Ashatsinu's unforeseen kiss. The warrior remembered alarming clarity the sweet taste of ripe berries and cool melon. Vanilla and creamy milk remained on his tongue. The tangy scent of citrus filled the air. The overwhelming burst of primal lust coupled with endless devotion spilled from him. The anger and desolation of realization and loss gained victory over the normally dauntless Sire. A vociferous bellow erupted from him and filled the night. Talons grasped flowing white sand and Gesham watched as the granules fell like water from his touch. It was the moment that he had yearned for all his life. Such flashfire recognition of a soul mate left him without words. Within an innocent girl's kiss, Skylaris confounded him with completion in the matchless, distinct beauty of Ashatsinu's soul. Both exultation and anguish claimed him when he received the revelation that a human...his dearest friend's daughter, had triggered the Reckoning.   
  
[Skylaris' ingenuity certainly lacks not irony.] Gesham inwardly grimaced.  
  
The ancient teachings of the Gargoyle's goddess rang clear in the Gargoyle's thoughts. He found that he recited them aloud without hesitation. "Take only one mate with adoration and steadfast devotion. Forsake knowing any other as long as love abides betwixt thee. If death parts you from your Soulmate, then find love in whatever form it comes to you. Take heed if you find a Soulmate not of your clan. For such creatures have greatness of spirit, but may be delicate of body. A Gargoyle's love is not a gentle love; it is fierce and devout. It is best choosing one of your own clan, for those not of your kith find death most swiftly from age or injury, for the sun sets upon them and shortens their life."  
  
He chuckled bitterly with new appreciation regarding the admonition of Gargoyles loving Humans. Such a kiss triggered a passionate response, thus, such an act tore asunder the natural order and sequence of the Divine's universe. He cloaked his buff wings around broad shoulders as he buried his face in his hands. Tears more precious than amber fell upon the white sands. Skylaris' wicked humor wasn't lost on the clan leader. What better test for the Gargoyle heart than to present him with a love never meant for him?  
  
He rose to his feet and returned to the other warriors on patrol, resolute in the knowledge that sending Ashatsinu away was for the greater good. Yet, as his heart shattered with every step, he failed to notice small ocher flowers blossoming where his tears had fallen. In the Draconic tongue, they are called RaH'Helsh -Heart's loss. It is said that Gesham's tears inspired Skylaris to give him hope...and a good lesson.  
  
Never accept the obvious at face value.  
  
Arana watched from the darkness as she watched the young human run blindly back to camp. It was a pity that such a brave soul and stout heart resided in a Human. The wise old Dame grudgingly acknowledged that Ashatsinu was certainly a credit to her race. It seemed such a waste that the despotic tendencies of a deviate would squelch a spirited, vibrant soul. [The Goddess is not without her reasons and She has reason for all of this. Still, Gesham is her most devoted follower and to do this to him I can't imagine why. Well, I have a trip to pack for and I don't have much time. Ashatsinu is not going to be a merry traveler on any night.]  
  
Anubis' daughter leaned heavily into her walking stick as she made her way gingerly down the blowing sand dune. She knew that she was, indeed, in for an interesting journey.  
  
Ashatsinu said nothing to her handmaiden as she entered her tent. The young princess quickly glanced around and saw little worth taking with her. She packed her bow and arrow well inside the veils supplied for her sisters. Other than provisions and a few trinkets, she needed nothing. She placed the back under the blankets of her tent and awaited her father's summons.  
  
Plans originally had been made for ten of her father's finest bodyguards to escort her to Ur to begin her training in the harem of one of Kenan's allies. The caravan was scheduled to leave the following evening with many provisions and great wealth to ensure that Ashatsinu received the best accommodations and education available. Yet, it was all being overturned by the arrogance of an ignorant Gargoyle who spurned her love as though it were little more than camel dung. The world she knew was ceasing to be with each passing moment.  
  
Even Ashatsinu could not deny the logic of the clan warrior's clever plan. Traveling by day was dangerous because of the scorching desert heat. Traveling at night with a large caravan laden with food and wealth was both a blessing and a bane. Soulless Ones waited to ambush unsuspecting travelers and drain them dry. Bandits sought the riches of naive trekkers daring to journey in darkness. For reasons known only to the DeMahri, the minions of Utakku dreaded them in Combat. Legend had it that one Gargoyle warrior was enough to handle ten of the Soulless. Ashatsinu and Arana would make the journey by air rather than ground and cut their time in half. Traveling light was essential for a successful flight.  
  
Yet, the heaviest thing traveling with Ashatsinu was the pain slowly breaking her heart.  
  



	2. The Stone King II: Sand and Stone

Disclaimer: Gargoyles are property of Buena Vista/ Disney. They do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, so please do not sue. However, all original characters are property of DenigoddessMMI.  
  
Please send all flames, praise, commentary and questions to Denigoddess2001yahoo.com  
  
Author: Denigoddess2001  
  
Addy: Denigoddess2001yahoo.com  
  
Fandom: Gargoyles  
  
Saga: The Sentinels of Midnight  
  
Episode: The Stone King II  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Date: May 03, 2004  
  
The Stone King II  
  
Ashatsinu still felt anxious with the subterfuge cunningly implemented by her guardian and the clan's elder. The princess felt even more beset with trepidation as she studied the fiendish creature walking by her side. Fable declared that the Tribe of Azazel worshipped not the One True All-Father, but a pantheon of infernal immortals with the bodies of men and the heads and features of wild beasts. Around the campfires at night, Ashatsinu had heard the appalling tales of how the Tribe of Azazel sacrificed its own members in times of trouble in return for favor from their many gods. All-Father's teachings forbade the spilling of Human blood for atonement of one's transgressions. Old wives' tales found their way to her ears that the Azazelite gods belonged also to the western tribes of Akkadia and the Nile, far beyond Utakku's dominance. Names such as Isis, Set, Bastet, and Anubis found their way into the conversations of her tribe's bravest warriors. Now, beside her, A DeMahri shamaness resembling the Azazelite god of the dead, kept her company. The harrowing thought brought Ashatsinu little comfort.  
  
She pondered all of this without keeping her gaze on Arana. Dark, frightened whispers in her father's tribe hinted that some other bloodlines besides Gargoyle flowed through Arana's veins. Rumor alleged Arana had lived since Adam's time and perchance was the consequence of a mating between some nameless Gargoyle and the Azazelite deity called Anubis. [How else would she have such incredible abilities? She is more than a seer. I have heard in my father's tent that Arana is a true sorceress with powers inborn and not merely learned. How can I trust her to keep me safe? Could she be in league with Utakku?]  
  
She ruthlessly pushed the doubtful thoughts aside and forced her mind to focus upon the upcoming journey. Ashatsinu shifted her pack easily onto one shoulder. The young princes carried little but her traveling cloak, her cherished bow, arrows and quiver, and a few keepsakes from home. The Dame had instructed her to travel light.  
  
The young woman breathed in deeply and absorbed the fresh, clean scents of the desert night. Her camel-skin boots kept the fine, warm sand from her feet. She felt constrained with their soft confines. Many nights, Ashatsinu had run barefoot upon the shifting dunes while Gesham glided overhead on patrol. She knew the terrain well and knew her chances of survival ranked high. Still, it worried the young warrior that she traveled on foot at night with an aged warrior. Many of Ashatsinu's kind had fallen into fatal folly when they dared traveled at night. Most became easy prey for Utakku's minions as food or slaves. She wished not to join their undead ranks.  
  
"Trouble clouds your mind, Princess." Arana wrapped her weathered wings around her statuesque form. Her tail twitched as she seeming hovered just above the sand. Ashatsinu shivered when she caught the canine profile illuminated in the moonlight. The Dame's head was unmistakably one of a jackal, the very thought sent chills of sheer horror through the young woman. She silently prayed to All-Father that Arana was friend rather than foe.  
  
"We're placing ourselves in harm's way by traveling without an escort. It's madness to travel like this at night in the desert."  
  
"We avoid the eyes that look for you, Princess." Arana's low voice seemed to carry the hint of a growl. It sounded as rough as the sand scuffling beneath Ashatsinu's boot heels. "The Soulless Ones have already heard of your father's plans to send you by caravan to Ur. It would be their plan to swoop down on the caravan, raid its wealth, drink everyone's blood and leave the corpses to ripen in the desert sun."  
  
"We could make if we traveled by day."  
  
"If the heat and the scorpions didn't make a good lunch of you first." Arana's taloned hand motioned to herself. "Child, I am stone by day. I'd be no use to you then."  
  
"True." Ashatsinu grudgingly agreed with the sound argument. "Still, Father is going to be livid when he finds out that I'm not joining my sister in her husband's harem in Ur. He wants me to learn the feminine arts."  
  
"Child," The beldam laid a taloned hand upon the young woman's shoulder. "There is more to being a woman than cooking, cleaning, and copulation. Your talents would be wasted and such an education reduces you to being little more than Halmu's concubine. Kenan entrusted your protection and education to Gresham. Have faith that Gresham will do right by you."  
  
"He is simply sending me away and washing his wings of me." The Princess muttered bitterly.  
  
"You speak harshly of one you claim to love so much." The scalding chide from Arana caused Ashatsinu's words to abruptly cease.  
  
"Gesham desires a fate for me that is not mine." An undignified snort escaped the Princess.  
  
"More than you know." Ashatsinu shivered when she saw Arana's cryptic smirk. "Remember, that he also wants what is best for all, including you, Your Highness."  
  
"I believe that fate is for those who resign themselves to it." The young warrior cast her dark eyes upon the moon above them. "Destiny is to what we aspire. It results from the choices made and their consequences. However, the DeMahri, especially Gesham, cannot see that. He can only see stone or sand, black or white. He can't see all the other marvelous choices in between the two extremes."   
  
"Ah, youth is wasted on the young." A strong, stalwart tail snaked around Ashatsinu's slender waist, pulling her close to the mystical Dame. "Princess, there are those who wish you dead. The runes have revealed some things to me, but not all. There are only two choices: either we delude Utakku and his minions' -or we all die. Those choices are blatantly simple."  
  
"How about that we travel to Utakku's city during the day and burn them to a crisp?"  
  
Canine ears perked up with acute attentiveness, Arana stopped in her hovering and glanced around her. Her nose twitched several times as she tested the air for various scents. "Draw your bow."  
  
Ashatsinu knew better than to question the Dame's good instincts. Without protest, two arrows the young woman cocked two arrows against the taut bowstring. Arana's voice rang inside the Princess' mind. [Someone or something is following us. Stay close.]  
  
Silence met Ashatsinu's human ears as she strained to hear the sounds of the night. Only the sand of sand blowing in the breeze greeted her. She nodded quickly in understanding as her eyes scanned the perimeter around them. Brown eyes widened as she watched four forms speeding over the dunes on the vista. She returned her gaze to the Dame stock-still and body pointed in the direction of the on comers. [Arana, only Soulless Ones and DeMahri take to the skies.]  
  
Ashatsinu's tongue felt dry and swollen in her mouth as fear drained her of moisture. She quickly and silently slipped her pack from her shoulder and onto the ground. With a dull thud, it landed beside her in the sand. Crouching, she visually scouted the area for their hidden hunters.  
  
[We remain unseen by their eyes. Thank the gods.] The princess took note of Arana's mental sigh of relief. The Dame's tail quickly swished away sand so that a small trench was between them. [Do you know of the DeMahri trick of the Stone Butterfly?]  
  
Ashatsinu immediately nodded. The Sand Butterfly was a classic trick used in DeMahri sand-fighting. She watched as with a few flutters of wing and a few slashes of Arana's tail quickly dug a shallow trench deep and wide enough to hold the two females. Gesham had taught her the tactic well. She drew two more arrows from her quiver and held them fast in her hand. Without further instruction, with bow drawn and arrows ready, she lay down on her back in the trench dug by Arana. Over the Dame's shoulder, the Princess spotted the forms swiftly approaching. [Elder, they are getting closer.]  
  
[So they are, Child, so they are.] Arana uncloaked her dark jade wings and covered Ashatsinu's body from brow to foot. Words rumbled in the ancient tongue of the Kah'El as Gargoyle eyes gleamed scarlet rather than silver. "Bel'lai, Menash She Seh'dai."  
  
Pillar of sand shot up like geysers and fell upon the duo as a desert rain covering them both beneath several inches of desert. [Make not a sound, Ashatsinu, if you wish us to live.]  
  
Lying beneath the canopy of Arana's wings, she wondered what the Dame had next in mind. Answers to her questions came quickly as she watched emerald eyes gleam with white-hot light that revealed that Arana's mindset was moving into battle mode. The brilliant radiance gave way to a vermilion gleam that reminded Ashatsinu of glowing hot embers from the Blacksmith's forge. An inhuman growl rumbled deep within Arana's chest. "Dei'Eh'Mi Errrrrrrlllll. Cacchhhhheerrrrrl."  
  
To the average human, the phrase sounded nothing more than a feral snarl made by wild dog. Nevertheless, Ashatsinu recognized a few fragments. "Day-Eh-My" was a phrase she recognized from her patrols with Gesham. It was the name of his clan's beloved guardian beasts meaning, "Winding Wind."  
  
A feminine voice cut with alarming clarity through the sand above them. "I smell blood, Ari. I smell fresh, virgin blood. It's so close."  
  
Ashatsinu gulped.  
  
[Battle well.] Arana's voice addressed her in the greeting that the DeMahri used arrival and departure from one another.  
  
Or die.  
  
"Be Free." Ashatsinu returned the greeting in the few syllables of Draconic she knew. [By All-Father, what does Arana have in mind!?]  
  
In the distance, a haunting preternatural moan met her ears. She heard the gusting gales of wind nearby and knew that Arana had summoned the elements, perhaps even conjured a sand cyclone. Such winds could whisk away a dozen camels or bury a regiment in a league of sand beneath the desert. Then, a cacophonous roar blasted through the stillness. The strident bellow resembled the sound of ten thousand wrathful DeMahri warriors gliding into battle.  
  
"By Katoramet, what is going on?!" The same feminine voice called out. "This is no accident."  
  
The winding sirocco dancing across the dunes in haled the desert sands. A violent, unexpected gust of wind ripped away sheltering sands of the desert. Arana spread her wings their entire span and let the gale flow into their billowing folds. The back draft following the tempest caught Arana's unfurled wingspan and drew her nearly a hundred cubits away. Ashatsinu watched in wordless awe as the Dame quickly mastered the currents flowing beneath her wings and swiftly faced her adversary. Arana was a terrifying shadow against the light of the full golden moon. Chiropteran wings unfurled resembled those of the Hittite flesh-eating fiends that Ashatsinu had heard about in campfire tales as a child. The canine profile of her head gave Arana the uncanny persona of a desert deity.  
  
One of Utakku's minions screeched in fury and dove quickly toward the Dame. Somewhere another cam in from the back and simultaneously tackled her. Arana's jade talons slashed through the sand and the night to burrow deep within the front one's chest. A strident bellow or rage escaped the warrior as the three combatants tumbled into a downward spiral into the preternatural vortex cycling beneath them.  
  
Ashatsinu watched the cyclone's rotating maw swallow their three assailants. She had little time to mourn her guardian as she saw two more sycophants ascend over the horizon. With cold, calculating purpose she cocked an arrow into place against the bowstring. The bow creaked as Princess drew back the taut string. Index finger and thumb carefully kept the first arrow in place. Her brow furrowed in ruthless determination and let the arrow fly. It sliced a path straight and true through the blowing sand and the darkness. Her dark eyes met with the fast-approaching fiend. Its grim snarl reminded Ashatsinu of a twisted smile as the arrow found its mark and embedded deeply within the creature's chest. The smug look of victory changed to one of surprise as the creature glanced down to see the wooden projectile buried deeply within its torso. Its eyes widened with pain, surprise and fury as its hand desperately reached to pull the shaft from its bosom. It never had a chance to finish its infuriated scream as it's body burst into flame and exploded in a cloud of dusty ash and glowing cinders.  
  
"Go to Sheol and stay there." She uttered the curse with glee.  
  
A wild, feral screech filled the air as Arana and her vampire came tumbling from the whirlwind, wing over arm over leg over tail. Ashatsinu focused her attention on the two approaching foes.  
  
She brought two dove-tipped arrows into place and cocked them into the bowstring. She used one's glowing golden gaze as her and let her arrows fly. A screeching hiss answered the slicing sound of the arrow entrenched in the vampire's chest. It's sudden combustion filled the entire night sky into a candant display of blazing flame.   
  
"Oh, you are good, Young One." A voice whispered from behind her. "And it's a shame you're going to die in the zenith of your youth."  
  
Ashatsinu remained motionless as the acrid stench of blood came closer to her. She fought the urge to run and to retch. She felt death standing within half a cubit of her. "I haven't had such innocent blood in quite some time."  
  
Ashatsinu's hands grasped the bridge of the bow. She closed her eyes and pressed the thoughts of regret from her thoughts. She realized she would never know the love of the one who held her heart. [I will not die as a coward. I will die well.] She felt a frigid touch upon her skin without hands to accompany it. Someone....something caused her head to bend and expose her neck. Two scalding tears escaped the Princess' eye as she prepared for the bite.  
  
She poured her brawn into her grasp as she shoved the bow backwards into her unsuspecting killer. The ironwood of the bow sank into the rib cage of her personal demon. In a pivot of Gesham's design, she turned, faced her enemy and drove forward with her bow. Ashatsinu looked into the amber eyes of her attacker with a blend of rage and bewilderment.   
  
She saw the yellow eyes glance down were the pointed end of the bow lie buried within the vampire's chest. Then, she felt a fiery heat scorch her skin as the creature fulminated into a burst of soot, ash and sparks.  
  
"Arana!" She remembered the Dame's plight. Ashatsinu ran to the area where she had last seen her comrade fall. "Arana. Arana? ARANA?"  
  
One moment passed and then two.  
  
"Menash Kah, you stupid hag!" Ashatsinu cursed the Dame in a glorious expletive of Draconic and her Tribe's tongue. "Where are you?"  
  
Her curse turned into a scream when a power force wrapped around her waist and pulled her into the sand. Four sand-covered green talons covered the princess' mouth. "Child, your screech is enough to wake the dead."  
  
"Harrumph." Ashatsinu screamed against the muting hand. Arana slowly pulled it away. "Or the undead."  
  
"Point taken." The Dame scanned the landscape in Ashatsinu's direction. She nodded to the piles of ash upon the sand. "Not bad for a neophyte, Your Highness."  
  
"Not bad!?" Ashatsinu's jaw nearly shoveled a load of sand as it dropped. "I killed two...no three - Soulless Ones with nothing more than good aim and a clear head. Try, 'well done."  
  
"Any DeMahri warrior can take on five of those creatures with ease." Arana's scoff added more bruising to the young woman's battered ego. "But for a Human to kill one, let alone two, it shows you have potential."  
  
"Coming from you, I'll assume that's a compliment." The princess made little attempt to hide the sarcasm charging her words with defiant energy.  
  
"Merely a statement of fact." Arana said briskly. "Oh, and Princess?"  
  
"Yes, O Great One?"  
  
"You will most certainly be learning the feminine arts as Gesham requested."  
  
"You can tell I'm overjoyed." Brown eyes rolled in disdain.  
  
"From Eridu's City Guard." Arana's dark green eyes flashed crimson.  
  
The bow fell to the sand. A pause hung between the two females as Ashatsinu tried to understand what Ashatsinu had just told her. "What did you say?"  
  
"The Amazons from the surrounding lands of Eridu comprise the elite city guard that protects the city from invaders. A commission awaits you in the Guard's ranks once we arrive. What your father doesn't know won't hurt either of us. You WILL learn singing, dancing, cooking, weaving and domestic administration as is befitting a woman of your station. You'll also be learning, let us say, various other skills paramount in a young Princess's education."  
  
"Arana, thank you!" Ashatsinu impulsively embraced the aged warrior. "I knew Gesham wouldn't let me down."  
  
"Just don't let Gesham down." The dame gravely replied. "You will have need of those skills to protect your people. The road ahead of you is a perilous one. Take those lessons you will be learning to heart, Ashatsinu. For those lessons will be all that can save you."  
  
"I'll never let him down." And for the rest of the journey, Ashatsinu knew peace.  
  
Niza, with growing glee, watched the ongoing battle from her silver scrying bowl. The waters from within the large rippled gently, revealing the blowing sands and the two females fighting against their nocturnal nemeses. The sorceress dropped two sparkling amethyst gems into the enchanted pool so that all conversation was audible. She watched in muted rage as her younger sibling converted her ironwood bow into a makeshift stake. Niza's frustrated shriek became shrill as she watched two of Utakku's best hunters fall prey to the bothersome females.  
  
"By Tiamat! No mere Human can kill one of the Soulless, let alone two! What dark Magick does my sister use!?" Niza leaned to her left and grabbed a clay jar painted with the design of a great serpent. She lifted the lid and let her henna-painted hand dip into a course ground powder. "Let me see through a minion's eyes to see what dark Magick my sisters uses. Show me how to defeat her."  
  
Niza threw the handful of dust into the crystalline pool of water. It hissed and sizzled as the silt made contact with the enchanted waters of the scrying pool. The cracking liquid lay buried beneath a layer of lavender flame and acrid amethyst smoke rose from the basin like a slow-burning fire. It swirled and danced in a thick wall extending several cubits into the air and hovering only a few inches from the water. The eddying streams of gray smoke framed a vision that enthralled and confounded the resplendent auger into a dither of pristine fury. As a raptor focuses it's concentration upon unsuspecting prey, so did the clarity of the divination converge upon the young desert combatant.  
  
"Show me what no one else knows." She beckoned the dark powers of Tiamat.  
  
Against bronzed skin, the perimeter of Ashatsinu's anomalous birthmark illuminated the vision with a brilliant verdigris light. Niza leaned forward and traced the projected image in midair languidly with her index finger. She recognized the symbol for Skylaris, DeMahri goddess of the stars and cosmos. She also knew that the meddlesome deity changed the leylines of fate is it so amused her. "So, the dragon lady has taken an interest in my sister."  
  
"Ashatsinu is pampered by our senile father and yet he doesn't appreciate the service I've given him. Instead of promising me to Halmu, he gives that unsightly little hellion to him. Halmu is mine by right. She never appreciates his gifts or his attentions. Instead, she wants to run like a heathen at night with those accursed stone golems. And now, the wench gleams the favor of a goddess." Niza's ranting filled the entirety of her tent. "Well, Ashatsinu, you have robbed me of Kenan's favor and any hope of ever being Halmu's rightful queen. But, that WILL change. I promise you."  
  
Niza's eyes widened as the vision continually unfolded before her. She recognized the soft cream folds connecting tawny struts of chiropteran wings. A luxuriant long mane brightened flaxen by the desert son fell down broad shoulders. A gasp of unexpected delight escaped the augur as she watched tawny wings fold around the undeniably masculine figure. She watched the spade of his tale flick incessantly back and forth in a ceaseless, agile tempo. She watched the agitated Sire pace a trench along the stone walls of the tribe's encampment. Amber eyes gleamed with a golden glow in Niza's vision and they seemingly met her gaze. She saw something flash around his neck in the moonlight.   
  
"Ashatsinu's signet ring."  
  
It hung next to the Gargoyle's heart.   
  
Niza stared into his eyes and noticed the distant expression. "This is an interesting development."  
  
She watched Gesham clasp the ring hanging upon a simple leather cord. His head bowed and glowing eyes closed. She watched him press the golden ring lingeringly to his lips. Niza gasped in horror as she saw two single tears fall from those eyes. "So, the Gargoyle has deeper feelings for Ashatsinu. It borders on blasphemy. This could be what I need to bring everything into its proper place."  
  
A smile crossed her painted crimson lips. "Oh, Ashatsinu, how you will fall."  
  
Four Seasons Later  
  
The City of Eridu  
  
The spacious throne room barely contained the large assembly gather for the celebration. Sitting in stands constructed specifically for the event, people gathered and observed the festivities and happenings. Towering, wide granite pillars rose over the masses. The rich intricate inlay of exotic marble and Kiarite refracted the streaming rays of moonlight bursting into the chamber. Symbols and hieroglyphics adorned the expertly crafted pillars depicting the epic tales of Isis and Osiris meeting and loving one another. Intricate carvings told the ancient tales of the great Celestial Dragon and her Children of Stone falling from the stars en masse millennia before the columns existed. One column narrated the tale of how Ptah, the deity of the Azazelites, and Skylaris found love beneath the stars. Another depicted the humanoid servants of the DeMahri, the Simianites, and both species' unions with the Daughters of Men. Rich tapestries bedecked the walls in rich vibrant splashes of scarlet and gold.  
  
Yet, few took in the beauty of the Eriduite palace. All eyes focused intently upon the two combatants facing each other. Their faces hidden by masks, both stood in defensive positions ready for combat. One had many small, long braids extending the length of the dark Nubian back. The other wore long straight ebony hair that almost fell to the warrior's waist. Both held weapons in hands comparatively new to the city. In a metallic net sarong and scant chest armor, the bronze-skinned fighter remained posed for the oncoming attack.  
  
The tall Nubian held sais in hand and became a blue of arms as the attack advanced. The clang of metal filled the great hall when the piercing weapons were blocked. The shorter, lighter-skinned warrior blocked that attack just above head height by crossing arms and sais in a classic block. The quillions curved upward from the hilt of the Nubian's sais and the bronzed-skin fighter used an upward push then a downward pull to bring the other's sais with in control. The Nubian gasped as the shorter warrior rotated both arms in opposite rotations. Their sais and arms became interlocked.  
  
A strong muscular leg swept around catching the Nubian's ankles and caused the warrior to fall resoundingly upon the marble floor. The warrior's sais soared upwards toward the roof of the great hall. The lighter-skinned warrior's sais found their way to their sheaths and two small hands caught the Nubian's flying weapons before they clattered to the ground. A thunderous cheer of jubilation filled the great hall as the two's eyes never left one another. The shorter warrior tucked the Nubian's sais into her belt before extending her hand in aid to help the Nubian to her feet. Both warriors pushed back their masks and revealed their identities to the cheering spectators. The imposing Nubian was Zillah, captain of Eridu's elite city guard. Like she, many of her sister Amazons sought employment within the welcoming city. Eyes in the crowd fell to the shorter warrior. Ashatsinu, princess from the tribe of Kenan stood across from Zillah bathed in the glow of perspiration from a challenging spar.  
  
"You have done well, Princess." Zillah's smile showed her booming pride for the young woman's skill. "I've taught you all that I can."  
  
"You've been a good teacher, Captain." Ashatsinu agreed. She returned the sais in hand to her friend. "I hope that I will be a better person from all that you've shown me."  
  
"Only time will tell." Both then turned and bowed deeply in unison before the crowd.  
  
They had little time to bask in their glory before another Amazon approached the duo. Respectfully, she waited until the applause ended. Zillah turned to the Centurion under her command. "What is it, Izedi?"  
  
"The King wishes to speak with Ashatsinu at once, Captain. He seeks audience with both of you."  
  
"Tell his Majesty we shall do as he desires." Zillah turned to her friend. "You've caught many eyes upon your right of passage tonight."  
  
"Now, I am just considered old and wizened at twenty-one seasons." Ashatsinu smirked. She nodded in the Monarch's direction. "We can't keep His Majesty waiting."  
  
"No, it isn't wise."   
  
They turned and strode in unison before the dais where the king sat and glanced down at them. Ashatsinu also followed protocol. She fell to one knee and knelt before the monarch. With arms crossed in an "x" against her chest, head bowed and eyes closed, the young princess remained still. Zillah brought her closed fist against her heart, hit her chest once and extended her fist in tribute to her monarch.   
  
"Rise, Zillah, take your place at my flank and rest your feet. You have fought well on this night of Ashatsinu's right of passage and will share of my bounty this night. "  
  
Zillah, mighty Amazon, bowed her head in submission. She answered humbly "Yes, My Liege. I am yours to command. We are honored by your presence and to entertain you."  
  
"And that you did, Amazon." He chuckled.  
  
"Rise, Ashatsinu from the land of the Amorites." Ashatsinu heard the King's address. She knew it was a great sign of respect when the king linked her name to her native lands. There was no mistaking the eminence of authority coming from the strapping young Monarch.  
  
He extended his hand to Ashatsinu. "Come, sit and dine with me this night. We must discuss many things."  
  
"As you wish, my Liege." The demure answer seemed the best response when dealing with a monarch who was barely a man. Ashatsinu guessed the king to be little more than seventeen or eighteen seasons old. Yet, it was legend that he had the wisdom of a man beyond his golden years. Dark eyes were lined in thick, black kohl as was the custom in his land. She thought him handsome as any of the men from her tribe. Yet, he shaved his face and head and the left side of his skull, laden with intricate indigo tattoos, denoted his Inhokomen's royal status. Like the other infidels of this land, he worshipped the like of Ptah, Anubis and Skylaris. "How may I be of service?"  
  
"It is not you who can be of service to me." The young king warmly clasped her hand. "It is how may I be of service to you?  
  
A maidservant bought the two monarch wine goblets and the King gave one to Ashatsinu. "I know that you are betrothed to Halmu of Sodom."  
  
"Yes, Majesty, that is true." She gingerly sipped her wine from the golden goblet.  
  
"I also know that there is no love between you."  
  
"Again, true, Majesty." She let her eyes fall from his gaze and stare at the spirits in the goblet. "I was once told that people of royal lineage are not meant to know love."  
  
"That is not necessarily true, Ashatsinu." The young man's voice softened to barely a whisper. As the festivities continued with dancing and feasting, the Princess noticed that it seemed as if only the king and she were the only ones in the room. Kohl-rimmed eyes revealed the depths of emotion reflected there. "You know that I love you. I know that your father made the alliance long ago with Halmu's father because he thought that your two tribes united would be all that would stand against the monsters that prey upon your people."  
  
"You have a good memory, My Liege." She hated being reminded of life's harsh truth.  
  
"I wish not to be your liege, my Ashatsinu." His smooth, uncallused hand gently cupped her chin. He tenderly guided her chin so that her eyes, once again, met his intent gaze. "My name is Imhokomen."  
  
"Im-HO-Kaw-min." She sounded out the name slowly because she so rarely spoke it aloud.   
  
"I ask you one last time to be my wife and to accept all my gifts."  
  
"My Liege," When she addressed him by title, she saw his eyes narrow. She quickly amended the situation. "Inhokomen, I am truly touched by your generous offer, but I must do as is my destiny. Eventually, Utakku and his minions will touch even Eridu. My people are from Adam's loins. Your ancestors came from the heavens with Skylaris and her Children of stone. It is only a true Human king, not a Simianite bred by the DeMahri who can destroy Utakku and his lot. For that, I must marry Halmu."  
  
"Then, I shall not ask again." The young King's short reply made Ashatsinu cringed as she heard the wounded notes of his voice. Her words were cutting, she knew, but true.  
  
"I am sorry, Inhokomen." Regret laced her voice. "But the prophecy says that I must marry the Stone King. It was never my intention to cause you pain.  
  
"Then I must tell you what I have learned this night, Princess, much to my dismay." He gave his wine goblet to the servant kneeling beside him. "I have received news of a grave nature. Your father has sent news. In his letter, he told me that it is time for you to return to your people. Halmu of Sodom wishes to announce your betrothal at a wedding feast within ten passings of the moon."  
  
Ashatsinu felt the pain of four years threaten to bury her beneath a mountain of pressure. She slowly closed her eyes to block out the words, the sound, and the finality of Inhokomen's words. Yet, she had learned a harsh truth early in her life. The deep rich timbre of its speaker haunted her memories. "...Some are never meant to know love. Such is the way of things, Ashatsinu...."  
  
"Then, the proper preparations must be made for my return to my father's tribe." She replied stoically.  
  
"Because of his alliance with Halmu, your kind no longer wanders around in tents. They have laid claim to the oasis Ahm Shere and have built a remarkable city there in an incredibly short time." Inhokomen replied with subtle awe. "Preparations shall be made at once. We shall send you back to Ahm Shere with the wealth of a thousand queens."  
  
"Inhokomen, I shall never be able to repay your kindness." She fought to keep those humiliating tears at bay.  
  
"In all of this, I want you to find some happiness." His quiet voice soothed the despair welling within her. "And we have all heard the legends of the cruelty to those in Sodom."  
  
A shudder coursed its way down Ashatsinu's spine. "I know."  
  
"So, as part of your dowry, it is the King's responsibility to ensure your protection."  
  
"My father shall provide many camels and cattle to Halmu."  
  
"No, I shall make sure to provide for YOUR protection." His stern gaze left no room for dissention.  
  
"Inhokomen, it isn't your responsibility-" She chose to argue anyway.  
  
"Shhh." He pressed to tapered fingers to her lips. "When I came to your father's camp seasons ago after battle, it was a young tomboy I remember who did not fear me or my people because my ears are pointed and my brows arched. You brought my warriors water when your people cowered in fear because we were the DeMahri's creation rather than your All-Father's. You showed us kindness. Now, I shall repay that kindness in full. No more words about it, Princess."  
  
Inhokomen abruptly clapped his hands twice. Izedi returned from nowhere with a richly carved wooden box in her hands. She knelt before the Monarch and he took the box from the Amazon. Ashatsinu stared at the darkly colored brown wooden box. She wondered if the wood might be mahogany or teak. "Open the box, Ashatsinu."  
  
She careful placed her hands on the sides of the box and lifted the lid. Light gleamed across the metal contained against a field of dark blue velvet. Against the inside of the lid and lying inside the box was a sight that brought a broad smile to the young woman's face. Fingers callused from years of weapons handling traced along the cool metallic contours of the box's contents. "By the Dragon, Inhokomen! They are resplendent."   
  
"Try them, Princess." He urged her with the enthusiasm of a child holding a new toy. "Try them."  
  
Ashatsinu took the valuable gifts from their box. In each hand, she held two handcrafted sais. Each was a bit longer than her forearm and ornamented in gold, copper, and mithral. The quillions on each side of the hilt were an exact likeness of the neck and head of the DeMahri's dragon goddess. Against scales of gold, each head on the quillion held two amethyst eyes; amethyst was the sacred stone of Skylaris. Ashatsinu let her gaze trace a path to the bottom of each hilt. The ends of both hilts were designed like dragon's feet. When she examined one, she saw three claws surrounding an iridescent argent, ebony stone containing scintillating emerald and violet flecks. It reminded Ashatsinu of polished marble, yet it had a gloss to it more so than that particular stone.  
  
"I don't recognize this particular stone, Inhokomen." Ashatsinu continued to study the lustrous raven-hued bijou. "It's breathtaking."  
  
"A gift from my clan, Princess." A voice came from the entrance of the dining hall. Ashatsinu's whisper had been nearly silent, yet the canine ears half a room away caught them perfectly. With forest green wings cloaked about her and eyes twinkling, large taloned feet made their way across the scarlet rug laid over the marble floor.  
  
"Arana!" The Princess' eyes gleamed with joy at the sight of her old friend. "You made it."  
  
"And miss your Right-of-Passage?" A smile revealed fangs, canines and molars. "I wouldn't hear of it."  
  
"Join us, Wise One." Inhokomen motioned to one of the nearby servants who quickly brought more pillows and placed them upon the edge of the dais.  
  
"Thank you, Young One." Arana said with great mirth. She made herself comfortable as she sat down upon the pillows. "I don't mind if I do."  
  
"Arana, it's been too long since I've seen you." Ashatsinu smiled. "Have you had a chance to hear the news?"  
  
"I heard about it before you did and I'll tell you now that I think that this is madness. You won't save your people by marrying Halmu."  
  
"What choice do I have?"  
  
"He has an army that will sweep across this land and excise Utakku's filth from this place. That same army will ensure your tribe's slavery and my clan's destruction." Arana spat.  
  
"I know he has no great love for the DeMahri, but surely he will honor the Oath of Promise that my people made with yours. I can convince him of that. He is the Stone King, you know. He may be harsh in battle, but it is said that he is fair and just -not malleable like clay. He is as resolute as the stone of Summer."  
  
"Arana, your clan will always have a home in Eridu." Inhokomen solemnly pledged.   
  
"I will not abandon the Humans of Amor." Arana's canine eyes turned to Ashatsinu. "If this one is an example of what is exceptional in your race, then it is the destiny of my clan to nurture that so that more will rise from your species' ranks."  
  
"You have no great love for Humans." Inhokomen said roughly.  
  
"I have great love for particular Humans." Arana's tail wrapped possessively around Ashatsinu's waist. "I never understood Human's concept of 'family' verses 'clan.' Yet, this young one is much like one of my own hatchlings. She only lacks wings and a tail. That's why it was exceedingly paramount that my clan participate in her dowry."  
  
"Oh, yes!" The Princess exclaimed. "What are these amazing stones in the embedded in the hilts of the sais?"  
  
"Those sparkling black and emerald-hued stones that have caught your eye, Princess, are not from this world." Arana's throaty voice compelled the Amazon, the Princess, and the King to lean closer to hear her enchanting tale. "The stone is from a distant place among the stars called Kiari. The natives of that land dance among the stars as we DeMahri fly beneath them. It is said that the Kiari came to this world with the DeMahri in search of a new home after Skylaris banished us from our homeland."  
  
"Much like All-Father banished Adam and Eve from the Garden."  
  
"Precisely." The Jackal-like head of the Dame nodded in agreement. "The Kiari are known to your kind as 'dark elves.' Many became the gods of these great lands. Humans assigned them such status and many of the Kiari were crafty enough to exploit it."  
  
"So what does that have to do with these stones in the hilts of these sais?" Ashatsinu asked in quiet awe.  
  
"The stones are from the Kiari homeland from the distant stars. Part of their land felt to earth in a fiery shower upon the Kiari and DeMahri's arrival. The stone is unbreakable. No iron shall cut it and no hammer can shatter it. No fire can scorch it and no DeMahri talons can scratch it. Ptah of the Azazelites is the only one able to manipulate it in his apothecary. It is said that any warrior who has possession of such a stone is invincible. On rare occasions, Ptah bestows outstanding DeMahri warriors with the Kiss of Stone. That allows them to became Kiarite by day. Than means that they can never be shattered by normal weaponry."  
  
"Ri-i-i-ght." Ashatsinu raised her brows in pure skepticism. "If that were the case, then you wouldn't need the tribe of Kenan or the Oath of Promise."  
  
"Let me tell you something, Princess, before you dismiss that little bit of legend and lore as pure bunk." She heard anger rising in the Dame's voice. "He is known as Zendrazane amongst my people."  
  
"Skylaris' consort?" Ashatsinu asked.  
  
"The same." Arana nodded. "He is real and he exists. He resides in a place far from here, but he is devout in the protection of the Children of Stone. They are of his blood as you are of Adam's. His oldest daughter humbled herself and beseeched for the gift of Kiarite that graces the hilts of the sais. Please don't be so ignorant as to dismiss their true worth and value to you."  
  
"I meant no offense, Arana. I simply didn't realize the depth of sentiment that these stones or the legend would inspire in the DeMahri."   
  
"My father gave those to me and the designs for the weapons you hold in your hands." She stared at the sais. "Ten seasons prior, no such weapons existed. Knowing your tribe's aversion to women and bladed weaponry, I asked him to design a weapon resembling a Gargoyle's talons without a blade and he came up with his grandest creations thus far. You hold them in your hands and intellect within those sacred weapons shall instruct you in their mastery. He taught the Amazons and then charged them to teach you."  
  
"Are you saying that these weapons can think?" Ashatsinu sheer wonder hushed her words. "How can that be?"  
  
"That is exactly what I'm saying, Your Highness. DeMahri weaponry also bears the mark of its creator and a sentience worthy of their wielder." Arana allowed one jade talon to trace a path down the sleek design of one of the sai's blades. "When you prove yourself worthy, they shall became part of your deepest psyche; they shall irrevocably bond to you body and soul, Ashatsinu. When a worthy warrior's blood spills upon them in righteous battle, they blood bond to their possessor for the rest of her natural life. What this means is that these Magickal blades will protect you for as long as you breathe and walk the face of this world."  
  
"Why me?" Ashatsinu somehow found the bravery and spoke. "Why will they not bond to a DeMahri warrior?"  
  
"You are much more than you see, Princess, and only Skylaris knows whatever reasons answer your questions. Perchance, someday she will share them with you."  
  
"Then, I can only accept such a gift with utter humility."  
  
"Good." Arana pressed her canine brow in affection to that of the young Human. "It's about time you developed some. I have grown to love you as one of my own hatchlings. As long as you keep these with you, no mortal weapon can do you harm. Zillah has instructed you well in their handling and use. They were crafted by the finest Amazon's serving under Ptah. The Runes of the DeMahri are engraved upon the hilt and the metal bars. Dragon Magick shall always be with you, even if I can not."  
  
"I don't know what to say except 'Thank you."   
  
"That is all that needs to be said." Arana's gleaming crimson eyes dimmed to a shimmering silver. "Inhokomen donated the precious metals from his treasury. He is Simianite to the core, and truly one worthy of trust."  
  
"I try." He chuckled.  
  
"Just one question, Arana." Ashatsinu cocked her head in curiosity toward the aged Dame. "I thought that rumor had it that you were the daughter of Anubis."  
  
"It's just a rumor. Besides, he's far more ominous than a gentle soul like Ptah."  
  
"True." The Princess agreed. "But, why not just call him by his true name?"  
  
"Zendrazane, yes." Arana cocked her head to the side in deep thought. "There is much that your kind aren't ready to learn, Ashatsinu. Humans have a very narrow scope of life. They would lose their battle knowing how great the odds are against them."  
  
To be continued........ 


	3. The Stone King III

Disclaimer: Gargoyles are property of Buena Vista/ Disney. They do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, so please do not sue. However, all original characters are property of DenigoddessMMI.  
  
Please send all flames, praise, commentary and questions to Denigoddess2001yahoo.com  
  
Author: DenigoddessMMI  
  
Addy: Denigoddess2001yahoo.com  
  
Fandom: Gargoyles  
  
Saga: The Sentinels of Midnight  
  
Episode: The Stone King III  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Date: 5/4/04 9:40:45 PM  
  
The Stone King III  
  
Summer Solstice....  
  
Gesham felt the balmy desert breeze soothingly touch his chiropteran wing's folds while he glided upon the air currents. The heat emanating from the white sands below him warmed his tawny skin. The flow of the gentle wind caressed him with the intimacy of a familiar lover. For nearly half a century, he and his kith protected the Tribe of Kenan, in return, had protected his clan. He watched how the primitive nomads transformed from herdsmen into denizens and architects of a vast and wondrous nation. He was pleased. Gesham fervently shook his head to rid the distracting thoughts that challenged performance of his nightly duties. He focused his attentions upon the more pressing matters at hand. Several other Sires fell into classic flight formation as they circled the perimeters of the bustling Human metropolis. As he watched them, he felt contentment knowing the Soulless Ones would not be attacking the herds of sheep and goats that grazed placidly along the northern perimeter of the oasis' granite wall.  
  
Gesham cast his scrutinizing watch below to the masons' handiwork that stood as a monument to Human tenacity. Because of the alliance between Halmu and Kenan, the human tribe found safety behind white granite walls erected around the desert sanctuary. How the Amorites toiled without rest to erect walls tall and mighty to keep the Soulless at bay. Large fire pits flamed brightly in segmented increments along the walls' ledges, illuminating the stark white granite in a subtle gleam of copper and realgar. Because of that particular architectural innovation, the continuing raids on the Kenan's tribe reduced drastically. Combined with the patrols of seasoned Sires and well-trained ground soldiers, the tribe of Kenan, eventually, turned the tide in a fleeting time in their favor. Thus, the Amorites no longer cowered without protection against their Soulless predators.  
  
Crimson smoke wafted from one of the braziers from along the wall's ledge. With precise night vision, Gesham knew that red was the hue used when the Kenan summoned all of his advisors to Council. He cut a sharp turn on the dancing undercurrents so that he flew wing-to-wing with his Second-In-Command, an indigo Sire whom Amorites called Mardok. "Brother, the King of Sodom has arrived. Kenan desires your presence immediately."  
  
Resignation filled Gesham's heart when the words fell upon his ears. Never had Halmu visited the city of Amor. The elite ruler of neighboring Sodom considered the nomadic tribesman beneath his notice until it suited his agenda. Geshem dreaded the time when the foreign monarch would set foot within the recently erected white granite walls. The time of prophecy required fulfillment and time came running like a messenger shortly before an invading army. A subtle snarl reverberated within his chest. Mardok's words rang through Gesham's head like a battle cry. His eyes glared furious amber in the darkness. "Why?"  
  
Mardok watched the Gargoyle warrior gliding near him form words, but a vociferous thunder drowned out the other Sire's voice. Gesham's hands covered his ears from the deafening blast of clamor that filled the night skies. Within the deepest realms of his tortured mind, Gesham realized the strident roar came from his own throat. Luminous orbs of scintillating luminance blinded his sight. A powerful, unseen force impelled him into a surrealistic plane of mind. Gesham felt his continuing descent into the threshold of sensation and surrendered readily to its enchantment.  
  
The euphoric spiral began as an effervescent radiance, rushing as a raging river within Gesham's veins. It was a fire, molten and alive burning and scorching his heart and searing his soul. Subsequently, it surged as a river, yields and simultaneously relentless as it washed over Gesham in a thunderous torrent of unleashed, unspoken eruption of primal emotion. Fervent and delicate against his wings like silk against skin the sensations enkindled the Gargoyle's powerful senses and enthralled his mind. A sudden burst of intensity exploded within him from his heart and groin, burgeoning throughout his large frame. The onslaught of ardent sensation caused long-entombed feelings to swell forth concurrently with his masculine fires. The flavorful taste of cinnamon and sweet dates with a hint of sweet honey danced upon his smooth, pointed tongue.   
  
A surreal vision of dark, passionate eyes hidden behind violet veils flashed inside in his mind's eye. Words of long-ago promised adoration whispered softly in his ears upon the night breeze as if he were hearing them again for the first time. The fragrant scents of jasmine and scented oils of myrrh filled his acute senses until they nearly drove him into a mating frenzy. Then, Gesham felt the final connection; a gentle brush of whimsical, capricious spontaneity mingling with ingrained, instinctual reflection. The contradictory personas grew and expanded like a sandstorm awaiting detonation within his chest. He recounted the legends of the prescient affinity that bound mates to one another -it beget the undeniable strength of the Reckoning.   
  
Enduring such a compelling covenant brought primal male instinct and ardent emotion in overwhelming waves upon Gesham. He faltered upon the wind currents and rapidly began a descending spiral toward shifting sands. Equilibrium deserted him as he struggled for balance upon the tide of airstreams. Mardok saw the dilemma of his rookery mate and plummeted into a downward freefall, indigo and silver wings compact at his sides. The wind plastered his alabaster locks against his scalp. Mardok's velocity increased as both warriors tumbled over one another, wing over tail, toward the approaching dunes beneath them. Strong blue arms came under Gesham's as Mardok's prehensile tail coiled around the his waist. Indigo wings expanded to their entire length, riding the airstreams so they both ascend toward the heavens.  
  
Mardok toiled against gravity and Gesham's massive body, the flow of breeze barely keeping the warriors aloft. He bellowed in his leader's ear, "By the Dragon, Gesham! Unfurl your wings before we collide with a sand dune. Now is not the time to let the Reckoning addle your senses and kill us both!"  
  
Within the fog of euphoria and bliss, Gesham heard that shout as little more than a faint, quiet murmur. The grogginess demanded his body's submission to glorious jubilation seizing his mind and body. Instinct battled urge and tawny wings expanded, catching the airstreams quite necessary for the two's survival. He stared into at Mardok and nodded curtly. The indigo Gargoyle released the clan leader from his grasp.  
  
Gesham reeled from the onslaught that nearly claimed he and Mardok's lives. He knew that feeling only once before and he remembered it well. No Dame in his clan inspired such awareness, passion, or ardor. Such tremendous power came the heart of one young human woman. Had he been upon the ground, the mighty would have fallen to his knees. An disconcerting maelstrom of affection and aching came from her: Devotion. Urgency. Yearning. Delirium. Faith. Joy. Rapture. Tenderness. Poignancy. Serenity. Love. Longing. Hunger.  
  
"Ashatsinu." Her name fell from his lips like a sacred orison. The ancient DeMahri phrase came naturally as he thought of his Beloved. "Re'Hahl."  
  
[Dearheart.]   
  
Gesham for a second time fumbled upon the currents as a deafening roar of elation erupted from him. Mardok, stoic by nature, found himself taken aback by his leader's extraordinary display. "Gesham, what is wrong? What Dame inspires this NOW? There is no mating moon begetting a mating frenzy."  
  
"It is no Dame, Mardok." A joy boomed from him as he exclaimed the words. "On the contrary, save for what is right. She has returned, Old Friend. Ashatsinu is near…I feel her."  
  
Mardok's brow ridges did nothing to hide the astonishment in his cerulean eyes. He dared to whisper, "The Reckoning within you stem from a HUMAN woman? By the Dragon, I thought such things were rookery tales."  
  
"Aye, indeed, as did I." Certain serenity settled over Gesham. "My Soulmate that Skylaris promised me on the first mating moon long ago returns this night."  
  
"But, Gesham!" His mid-air circling of his clan brother augmented Mardok's shock. "The Princess, the Daughter of Kenan, she is Human!"  
  
"I know."  
  
"Brother, do you not know that Skylaris presages against such loves? For loving one not of clan is destined for a sad end. You know this!"  
  
"She counsels against it, but it permitted. It is Skylaris' blessing that deems right the love I feel for Ashatsinu."  
  
"Or your own foolish choices. Gesham, Reputation distinguishes you as a Gargoyle of good sense and sound judgment. How do you know it is not the veil of lust playing with your mind? Many DeMahri have taken a Simianite or Human to Den on occasion as need dictates." Mardok dared question the clan leader. "However, such acts weaken our kind. You have been around the Humans far to much and have taken to their ways. That way of thinking will destroy any Gargoyle."  
  
The gleam of molten amber dimmed so that a scarlet gaze remained. Gesham somersaulted in midair. His tail twitched in jubilant zeal. "Four seasons have passed and blessed me with ample time to weigh the love for me within Ashatsinu's heart. My soul and hers have eternally bound to one another. Her immeasurable love entwines my heart, filling the empty voids deep within my soul. She fills the oblivion with wakefulness as though life begins anew, Mardok. No longer is my heart merely unfeeling stone. Now it beats in tribute to her and every breath she takes draws all of me into her. No more shall I deny the truth within my heart nor the reality of Ashatsinu's devotion. Goddess stated that she destined convention replaced by wisdom. Now, I understand that no fate shall keep My Beloved and I apart. We shall decide for ourselves the path we travel. I shall speak of my true feelings with Ashatsinu upon her return to her father's house."  
  
"Gesham," Mardok's eyes fell to the ground fast approaching the descending warriors. The grave tone drenched Gesham's euphoric mood with austere solemnity. "Her betrothed, Halmu is here. You attempt to defy fate, Brother. The gods marked Ashatsinu as Halmu's consort. To defy their will is to rebels against the Natural Order of All Things."  
  
"And is it not said that the God of Humans blessed them with choice since the days they chose to leave Eden and seek refuge in our caves and within our clans. We DeMahri CHOSE to give the Humans shelter and teach them our ways and disciplines. Now, I shall put my faith in human heart rather than anthropomorphic Fate. Now I choose my My Mate and My Love rather than letting chance decide for me." A low growl escaped the tawny clan leader. "She is mine, Mardok. Ashatsinu once told me that she believed that destiny is the consequence of the choices we select. Fate is that to which we resign ourselves. Skylaris is not a malicious prankster. She would not make my Soulmate be Human unless there was good reason for it. She wouldn't allow me the right of choice if she had little faith in my ability to decide that which is right in the way of the Greater Good."  
  
They landed deftly upon the gently shifting dunes. The Indigo Sire turned to his clan leader and laid a gentle hand upon his shoulder. "Humans do not respect our ways and our traditions. They do not embrace the Gargoyle Way. Think about what you are saying! You are starting to sound like one of them. Again, Brother, to defy the Goddess' teachings is folly." The Gargoyle Way warns Humans and Gargoyles against taken a mate outside of their kind.. Halmu is here to claim the Princess as his bride. Kenan shall declare it tomorrow evening. Let the Way of things occur in their Natural Order. Do not revise what Fate designs."  
  
"Mardok, speak of it no more." Gesham growled with primal fury so great that the indigo Sire stepped back in sheer surprise. "Leave this matter to me."  
  
"Then, think of this, Brother." Mardok's eyes gleamed cyan and silver in the moonlight. "If you speak of this to her, then you shall forfeit those whom we protect. Halmu will not stand for you to intercede in his plans. He is a powerful Human with many sorcerers longing to try their spells upon our kind. Take away his consort and you might well find your entire clan as nothing more than rubble at sunrise. Forget not the delicate alliance forged between Kenan and Azazel's tribes. One usurping might convince Halmu to abandon his promise and leave the Humans and DeMahri alike at the mercy of the Soulless."  
  
"ENOUGH." The Alpha Sire's bellow filled the skies and all became silent for a breathless moment.  
  
"As you wish." Mardok finally found the words to reply.  
  
A dour mask settled on Gesham's chiseled features. "Take the other warriors to the outer reaches of the city and make certain that all is secure. I shall meet with you later to discuss your report of tonight's patrol. Be on your guard and know that the Soulless could strike at any time."  
  
"So shall it be done." Mardok gave a concerned glance toward his rookery brother. "We'll save some mead for you."  
  
"I look forward to it for I shall need it to wash my mind free of this madness." Gesham nodded his farewell. "Tend to the bonfires, Brother, and I shall soon join you."  
  
Gesham turned in the direction of the stone palace that replaced the tent Kenan once had called home. Cloaking his wings around his broad tan shoulders, the bronzed warrior ducked beneath the lofty door as he entered the courtyard of the enclave. He walked past the guards until he made his way into the great hall of the palace. As he made his way to the modest throne room at the end of the corridor, several household servants sent Gesham friendly greetings while bustling about their business.   
  
The sight that caught Gesham's gaze tugged at the large heart beating in his chest. Kenan, pale and fragile, rested quietly upon his pillows. He put aside all thoughts of pity and attended to the matters at hand. He dropped to one knee and bowed his head, bringing gnarled finger to his lips in a kiss of allegiance. "My Liege."  
  
"My friend." The old man rasped and extended hand to his childhood friend. "Come closer."  
  
"As you wish." Gesham worried greatly about the man lying on the scarlet pillows. The Gargoyle knew Kenan's health had not been good for several years. In the corner of his vision, the golden warrior noticed an unfamiliar Human taking great delight in eying one of the serving girls that brought them wine. The Gargoyle noted the paleness of the human's skin and how his hair seemed unnaturally colored like fire. He reeked of the sweet, acrid scent of spices one used in the tombs of those passed into Death's arms. Gesham found it odd that the stench rolled from Halmu in a heavy cloud. [How can he stand it?]  
  
A growl escaped Gesham and caught the man's attention. He withdrew his interest from the disconcerted maiden and made his way to the pillows beside Kenan. Dressed in scarlet silk and wearing an open robe ornamented with fine gold embroidery, Gesham knew that this was a man of wealth and status. A long, flowing mane of hair turned deep auburn by henna nearly clashed with the crimson-hued robes the foreign guest wore. The thick, bold lines of black Kohl that lined the younger human's eyes caused the blueness of their depth to nearly flash and spark with the intensity of an electrical storm. The finely trimmed and pointed beard framed the man's features in a brilliant russet fire. Gesham forced his attention away from Kenan's enigmatic guest and back to his old friend. "How may I serve?"  
  
"This is Halmu, King of Sodom." Kenan's voice barely registered above a whisper. "He shall be the heir to all I rule."  
  
Gesham's eyes gleamed faintly like molten amber. [So this is the Human that gives Kenan's tribe both patronage and protection.]  
  
"And this must be the brave warrior that you spoke of, Kenan." The rowan-haired man slowly eyed the winged warrior with great scrutiny. "He speaks highly of you, winged warrior."  
  
"He is my most loyal warrior and confidant." The old man croaked with more energy powered his raspy voice than the Gargoyle had heard in many months. It warmed his heart to know that Kenan still held him close in esteem.  
  
"Is he now?" Halmu gave a sly smile as he studied the winged protector. "Your name is Gesham?"  
  
"Yes, Good King." Gesham nearly choked on the words. He despised the flamboyant human studying him with great leisure. "The Humans so named me when I was little more than a hatchling."  
  
"Tales of your bravery and heroic exploits flow like the sweetest honey from Kenan's tongue. Your adventures and those of your clan are legend, but never have I ever seen one of your kind until now."  
  
"Your words leave me speechless." Gesham let his amber gaze fall to the floor. He wanted to pull out the demon's silver tongue for working such manipulative Magick with simple words.  
  
"You serve Kenan without question though your loyalty puts you occasionally in harm's way?"   
  
[I shall not fall so easily into the trap you lure me.] Gesham inwardly seethed. [Gargoyles are not without guile and cunning. I shall destroy you, enemy mine, by deeming you my ally.]  
  
"Without hesitation and reservation." Gesham answered truthfully. [The smell of death tells me to keep guard of you, Human. I will not easily give any truth.] "My Liege has the allegiance of the Thubin Clan until Death claims us."  
  
"Kenan has told me how you were his bodyguard when he was but a lad. If I remember rightly, you are his daughter's protector." Halmu stroked his trimmed auburn beard in contemplation. "He told me that you allegiance is unwavering. Do you know of the impending marriage approaching?"  
  
"Aye, I do, Good King." A seething, barely contained and poorly restrained rush of primeval covetousness laced the warrior's voice. The every thought of this human touching the sweet, innocent skin of Gesham's Re'Hahl brought a vivid crimson gold fire to the Gargoyle's eyes.  
  
"Speak to me your thoughts of it, Gesham. What counsel have you for me?"  
  
Ice blue eyes lack the smile that alighted Halmu's lips. Gesham saw the smirk gracing Halmu's delicately handsome features and the contemptuous timber of his voice. [By the Goddess, he knows how I love Ashatsinu. He finds it amusing. I shall not play into your trap so easily, Ape.]  
  
"I only protect and listen, Good King." Gesham stated truthfully. "It is not my place to advise in mates which I am unacquainted; only to protect and serve according to the Oath of Promise."  
  
"Not only is he strong, Kenan, your Gargoyle friend is astute as well." Halmu nodded in grudging satisfaction. "You are eloquent with your words."  
  
"A Gargoyle speaks only truth."  
  
"I wish my advisors were as forthright." Halmu turned his attention to the elder chieftain. "The ways of my father's tribe are different from what Ashatsinu knows. You would do well in my city, Gesham, with your diplomacy and discretion."  
  
"I thank you for your words." Gesham spoke soft words of humility. "It will be challenging for such an sovereign spirit as the Princess to accept her proper as your Consort."  
  
"Ashatsinu will be leaving all that she knows to enter my kingdom." Halmu agreed and the Gargoyle a brief acquiescent nod. [Without this demon by Kenan's side, this city will be far more effortless to conquer. I have other uses for you, Gargoyle.] "She is not acclimated to the ways of my people. She will need a companion and guardian at her side. It will allow her to become accustomed to her new role as Queen and consort in a strange place."  
  
"It will not be easy for her Highness, but she is a woman of strong resilience." [To be little more than your whore and trophy will kill her spirit.]  
  
"My people find a woman of such will unsuitable for their King." Halmu clasped his hands together. "She will need to learn to temper her words and subdue that strong will. I like spirit in my horses, not in my women."  
  
Gesham stifled the urge to smite the infidel for his debasing comments about Ashatsinu.  
  
"I also believe that it is a man's place to gentle horses to the saddle rather than break them. In the hands of a proper trainer, one can turn a rebellious stallion into a fine riding stead. Sometimes patience is far more conducive to achieving that end rather than a whip. Women are much like horses, Gesham. I think that Ashatsinu needs gentling rather than breaking. It is not my way to be temperate with a disobedient woman. Tell me your thoughts on women."  
  
"I am not that familiar with they ways of women, Good King." Amber eyes clashed with a lively ice blue.  
  
"I mean to know your thoughts, Gesham, on whether you think it is better to break a woman or to gentle her to subservience."  
  
"I know little of enticing a human woman." Gesham spoke only truth. "The ways of Dames are much freer than your Human females."  
  
"I propose a way that you would be, once again, of service to Kenan and to his daughter." Halmu's cold eyes never blinked as he spoke the words. "She needs a stern, yet reasonable mentor in subduing her more undesirable qualities."  
  
"Please continue, Good King." Gesham kept his eyes to the floor. The thought of Halmu's implied cruelty upon Ashatsinu's tender flesh caused talons to dig into callused hands until blood covered Gargoyle talons.  
  
"It is your way to serve?"  
  
"It is the Gargoyle Way." Gesham countered.  
  
"I think you are the man…excuse me, the Gargoyle to aid me in gentling Ashatsinu to be a dutiful and proper queen."  
  
Gesham lifted his eyes from the floor and glanced at Kenan. The old chieftain raised his hand and nodded in silent acquiescence. The Gargoyle shifted his gaze briefly to meet Halmu's crystalline azure eyes. "I plead that you tell me more."  
  
Halmu stepped forward and laid a hand upon Gesham's tall shoulder. "I want you to accompany the Princess to Sodom and remain by her side as her faithful protector and advisor pending she learns her place. I …am not the most patient of men. Serve me by serving her, helping her to remember her place. I find it distasteful having to severely reprimand a woman for rebelling beyond her rightful place of submission. It leaves them …flawed." A slow, sinister grin came to Halmu's features. "I prefer that my women remain pleasing to my eyes…without scars."  
  
Gesham flinched at the horrific pictures brought to life inside his mind at Halmu's merciless words. The Gargoyle's tail lashed in silent fury at the ominous allusions of Halmu's words as he spoke casually of barbaric cruelty. [To be at Ashatsinu's side I would endure any humiliation rather than be banished forever from her presence. If you lay one finger upon her, I shall rip your heart from your chest and lay it front of you to see before you die.] "I am. …taken aback by your request and shall gladly continue to serve as Her Highness' devoted servant, companion and protector."  
  
"Will you also swear allegiance to me?" Halmu spoke quietly in the Gargoyle's ear.  
  
Gesham fell to one knee with wings cloaked, head bowed, eyes closed and arms crossed in an "x" over his chest. "King of Sodom, I will humbly fulfill your request to the best of my ability. Where she goes, so shall I go. Where she leads, I shall follow. What she desires of me I will gladly give and what she becomes so shall I be. I will renounce all others and serve as her as a worthy mate and protector to her, by the Will of Skylaris."  
  
"Mate?" A vengeful note filled Halmu's voice.  
  
Gesham realized that he had just recited his most secret vow before his sworn enemy. He closed his eyes in silent regret as he realized that he had completed the Vows of Promise that Ashatsinu had made four years prior. [By the Goddess, what have I done?]  
  
"Oh, you know these Gargoyles, Halmu." Kenan chuckled loudly. "They become rather attached to their human patrons. You know, chum, comrade…. they are as loyal as dogs. Gesham is more like a family pet." Kenan flashed a quick glance at the Gargoyle. "He only meant to be her friend."  
  
"Just how do you think of the Princess, Gesham?" Halmu asked blatantly.  
  
"She is the daughter of my Liege and the betrothed consort of Sodom's Ruler. She has been kind to my clan and I shall always be grateful for her tribe's mercy. I shall be companion, comrade, confidant….it is simply a vow of Protection that we Sires make."  
  
"My court has no love for family pets, only dutiful servants." A russet brow rose in suspicion on Halmu's handsome features. "Are you always so familiar with the members of Kenan's clan?"  
  
"He is like family." Kenan sharply interjected. "Never doubt a Gargoyle's loyalty. They are the keepers of propriety and protocol. He honors traditions and he knows his place. He will not go beyond his promise or his vowed role. He will serve you well, Halmu."  
  
Halmu closed his eyes as if mulling over the situation. "I see."  
  
Gesham gawked at Kenan. He watched the old man wink. "Halmu, I haven't heard the traditional Sire's vow in many moons. To have Gesham give such a vow for Ashatsinu's…protection puts my heart at rest. You need not worry for her safety when Gesham is present, I assure you. He has pledged his loyalty and now I know that she will do well in your grand city as your Queen."  
  
Halmu yawned as if boredom threatened to overwhelm him. "I find myself weary and wish to retire for the evening. I will leave you and your servant to your own devices. Gesham, I invite you to the betrothal feast tomorrow evening. You are to serve in your official capacity as Ashatsinu's protector."  
  
"I hear and obey, Good King."  
  
With that, Halmu simply turned and left the tent.  
  
"Kenan," Gesham growled. "You can not let that beast marry-"  
  
"You protect and serve." The elder chieftain said sternly. "You do not presume to advise."  
  
"You speak rightly, My Liege." Gesham felt like a small hatchling. Kenan's stern chiding hurt more than any other words spoken by him in decades.  
  
"You offered far more than an Oath of Promise in protecting my youngest daughter, old friend." Kenan somehow found the energy to sit upright. Gesham thought he saw a hint of a twinkle in those old, dark eyes. "You gave betrothal vows before your King."  
  
"Aye, Sire. I did." Gesham's amber gaze never wavered from his King.  
  
"Your goddess warns against such things."  
  
"It is counseled against taking a Human mate, but Skylaris forbids it not. I know very well the Tenets of the Gargoyle Way." The admission did nothing to contract the growing love in his chest. "But, it is also your God's choice that your kind be allowed to succeed or fail according to one's choices."  
  
"I agree."  
  
"My Liege, I never meant for such a thing to come to pass." Gesham fell to one knee and took hold of the elder sovereign's hand. "She has brought on the Reckoning and I know her to be my heart and truth for this life."  
  
"Yet, you would defy the Will of All-Father for your desires?"  
  
"For this love I would risk all of Heaven's wrath." Came the solemn, earnest reply. "I do not worship All-Father  
  
"Would you risk affronting your goddess?"  
  
"The Tenet of Adoration says, 'take only one lifemate with adoration and steadfast devotions. Love thy mate as yourself, fiercely and well. Forsake knowing any other as long as love abides between your Chosen One.' I am certain Skylaris finds no offense in my love for Ashatsinu."  
  
"I feared that this might happen." Kenan refused to fall for the smitten warrior's words. "I know you, Gesham. I have always known that there was something special between you and my daughter. A man would have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to notice it. You would be a far better match for my daughter than the unholy abomination that just left my tent. Yet, we live in dark times and few humans live free from Uttaku's tyranny. If I can save my people from unending death at Utakku's hands, then I will gladly sacrifice my daughter to do so, love or no love between you. Do not be selfish and place my tribe and my daughter at risk. Halmu has a powerful army and my tribe survives because of his generosity. This marriage will seal the alliance between our tribes and make us powerful enough to stand against Utakku and his minions. Do not stand in the way of it."  
  
"My Liege, she can not marry him!" The Gargoyle roared. "He will truly kill her."  
  
"I said not to stand in the way of it. I never said simply stand by and let it happen."  
  
"What do you mean?" Gesham's head cocked sideways in question.  
  
"If my memory serves me right, your goddess is somewhat of a trickster."  
  
"True."  
  
"She also is one to abhor injustice in any form." Kenan chuckled grimly. "She has taken an interest in my daughter for whatever reason; perhaps, because she is destined to be your mate. If I know the ways of that old Dragon you worship, then she will probably not let Ashatsinu walk into Halmu's grasp so easily. Trust your heart and your judgment."  
  
"What are you saying, Kenan? Do you approve of my desire to ….marry, as you Humans would say, your daughter?"  
  
"I recognize your vow of protection and that vow has my blessing. Pray that your words will not be my tribe's undoing. If my tribe suffers because of your rashness, then may All-Father and Skylaris have mercy upon you because I will not."  
  
"I will let no harm come to your people, Kenan." Gesham exclaimed.  
  
"We will speak no more of this. Go patrol the city, Old friend."  
  
"As you desire, Sire."  
  
Gesham took his leave of Kenan and elation filled his heart. The words spoken by the chieftain were sacred to the Gargoyle's elated heart. [I recognize your vow and you have my blessing.]  
  
"I shall be a worthy protector of her, Kenan." Gesham whispered in the night as thoughts a warm bonfire and good mead filled his thoughts. "With all that I am, I shall love and cherish Ashatsinu though she will never know."  
  
Halmu made his way from the tent to the city's outer walls. Niza's intuitions proved correct regarding the Gargoyle's affections for Ashatsinu. The Sorceress was a reliable source of information if nothing else and Halmu was glad of it. Gargoyles, Niza told him once, fought ineffectively without their clan leader guiding them. Gesham was Kenan's closest adviser and bodyguard. Take Gesham from the city and the Gargoyles stood helpless without their leader's commands. Take Gesham from Kenan and the old man's resistance crumbled like ancient, dry parchment beneath Halmu's fingertips. Marrying Ashatsinu originally meant waiting decades for all of Kenan's possessions and wealth. Conquering the city meant that Halmu only waited days and not years. With Utakku's backing, the Gold and water of Kenan's oasis would make Halmu the wealthiest of men. All Utakku wanted was the city's inhabitants, an equitable trade of blood for riches, not so high of price to pay.  
  
Halmu found the darkest niche in along the city's perimeter and waited silently. A soft, gentle breeze blew past him and sand lightly covered his sandals. He looked down to see crimson smoke wafting around his ankles and languidly drifting upwards into a slender column before him. Two glowing scarlet embers burned not far from him and became dark eyes. Wisps of the red smoke became arms, legs and ruby veils. It was truly within Niza's character to make such a grand entrance. "My Night Orchid, I have waited for you."  
  
Halmu watched his Niza glide across the crystalline sands seemingly never touching the ground. Her silken ruby veils fluttered gently in the evening breeze that caressed the desert sands. He stared at the woman hovering before him while her hand tenderly cupped his strong bearded jaw. A lover's instinct compelled Halmu's lips toward the palm of her hand and a kiss from his lips fell upon her dark, smooth skin. A small gasped escaped her and his powerful embraced plucked Niza from the air and placed her upon the ground before him. He pressed his lips to hers and tasted the subtle tang of cherry and strong wine.  
  
"Nothing would keep me away from you long." She looked anxiously over her shoulder. "I can not be long from the women's quarters. The sleeping elixir will not last long on the others. Tell me, My Love, what have you learned?"  
  
"Kenan's health fades quickly from the poisons you give him in his wine. He follows your advice without fail and considers you his most reliable oracle." Halmu stroked Niza's glorious black hair in wordless contemplation. "You are correct about Gesham. He is entirely in love with your sister that it leaves him little more than a blithering idiot. You said Gargoyles never leave their protectorate."  
  
"That is true. They would rather perish than abandon those they have vowed to protect." A questioning glance crossed Niza's dark, feminine features. She studied her lover's face as worried creases furrowed his brow. She cupped Halmu's face in her hands and forced him to meet her gaze. "Halmu, what is it? What has happened?"  
  
"His devotion to Ashatsinu makes him weak and mindless." Halmu rubbed his hands together as the possibilities flitted through his mind. "It was something that I hadn't expected. I decided that there would be a slight change in plans that works unexpectedly well to our advantage. So, with a bit of superior mind play, Gesham will be leaving the city and accompanying Ashatsinu to Sodom as her protector."  
  
"How did you manage that?" Niza's eyes became well nigh as large as two full moons. Amazement and admiration filled her gaze as she gaped at him.  
  
"I implied that poor Ashatsinu wouldn't fare well if she invoked my wrath and did not submit to me. It would leave her…oh, shall we say, injured?"  
  
"You threatened my sister!?" Niza's shrill reply cut through the still night air. "Are you insane?"  
  
"You know what must be done to set things right, Niza." Halmu reminded her harshly. "Glory does not come without pain. Your father, Kenan, conquered your mother's land a generation ago. He forced your mother's tribe into servitude and she into marriage. Now, those lands remain under his control and yet no blood descendant of your mother's line rules them. You told me, Niza, that they would fall into a stranger's hands. However, I can marry your sister and claim all rights through her blood since she is also a daughter of Tizir. Your clan's entire holdings become mine, including you, my Night Orchid. Do you want the lands that rightfully yours to fall into the hands of a barbarian?"  
  
"No." Niza's voice was barely above a whisper.  
  
"Greatness comes not from cowardice." Halmu pressed a reassuring kiss to her brow. "First, we must bring order. Then, will come peace and finally, prosperity for your mother's tribe."  
  
"I want Ashatsinu to see what she has turned away."  
  
"So she shall in time, My Love. You must have patience." Halmu's gentle urgings did little to calm Niza's churning rage.  
  
"Forgive me, My Love. I…" Niza desperately worked in hiding the snarl that came across her lips. "I forgot my place."  
  
"Fear not, Love. I understand." He soothed Niza as though she were a small child. "Trust me, what I have done will work far more to our benefit than either of us have imagined. Kenan's stone golem is sincere of heart but also blindly in love. His love for Ashatsinu drives him to protect her at all costs…even to leave the city to do it. No Gargoyle leader means that his clan will prove little trouble to Uttaku's minions when they plan to overrun Amor."  
  
"My Love, I can see it now." Niza purred. She took his hand in hers and suckled his fingers as though they were drenched in the sweetest honey. Halmu gasped as darkly erotic sensations traveled from his loins to his more masculine attributes. "But how shall you rid yourself of Ashatsinu?"  
  
"One of your potions should be enough." Halmu hands ripped away the vivid scarlet veils so that Niza's dark hair tumbled free past her shoulders. He leisurely let jet silken strands of Niza's hair fall softly between his fingers. He gently brushed away the glorious mane so that the smooth flesh of her neck lie exposed to his view. He carefully nipped the skin until a mark of dark plum formed into the perfect arch of teeth marks. Niza's low growl of passion caused Halmu to pull her to him so that her feminine curves perfect contoured every inch of his masculine attributes. "Then you shall be my Queen."  
  
Halmu's took Niza into his arms in one rapid, startling movement. His conquering mouth closed over Niza's full painted lips and quickly silenced any more words from her. A euphoric, pulsating need blazed through Sodom's Sovereign as he tasted the sweet cherry wine of Niza's intoxicating kiss. No matter how much Halmu denied it, he knew that Niza's beguiling beauty and her passionate response fueled him into primal passion that overwhelmed him. He made a silent note in his mind to enjoy Niza and her sister often before their "premature deaths."  
  
The lingering scent of vanilla mingled with the cherry blossom taste upon Niza's painted red lips. She returned Halmu's bruising kiss with simulated abandon. She prided herself at being an expert not only of poisons and elixirs, but also of various potions, including love potions. She felt Halmu bite into the tender flesh of her exposed should and cried out in pain. Niza found great comfort neither a human nor gargoyle male was immune to the effects of love. Her plan, incrementally crafted, fell into place like dominos on a playing board. [Once you have married my sister and killed her. Then, you shall marry me because I am also a daughter of the House of Kenan. I will look forward to the day when I can remove your ruler's scepter from you cold, dead fingers. Then, Utakku shall grace me with his dark immortality and I shall rule Sodom and Amor. My family's lands and honor will be restored to my mother, Tizir. You think you are so clever, but that smug pride of yours shall be your undoing and how I long for that day to occur.]  
  
Two cerulean blue eyes watched the two humans as they kissed in the darkness. A low growl rumbled in the air.  
  
"My Love, return now to your father's harem before you are missed." Halmu urged Niza. "Gargoyles patrol the city and we might be spotted at any moment. We shall soon to be together, I promise."  
  
"I hate waiting." Niza's pout fell well upon those full, crimson-painted lips. She fluttered her sooty eyelashes and blinked away feigned tears.  
  
"Patience, Niza. I shan't leave you." He pressed one more kiss to her brow and slipped into the shadows while a Gargoyle's moonlit silhouette soared over them. "But, now we must bide our time. Now go."  
  
"As you wish, My Lord." There was a small dust devil near the city wall and a trailing vapor of crimson smoke. The bright blue eyes stared down again from their vantage point and saw nothing more than wind-driven sand.  
  



	4. The Stone King IV

Disclaimer: Gargoyles are property of Buena Vista/ Disney. They do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, so please do not sue. However, all original characters are property of Denigoddess2001.  
  
Please send all flames, praise, commentary and questions to Denigoddess2001yahoo.com  
  
Author: DenigoddessMMI  
  
Addy: Denigoddess2001yahoo.com  
  
Fandom: Gargoyles  
  
Saga: The Sentinels of Midnight  
  
Episode: The Stone King IV  
  
Rating: PG-13: Violence and Sensuality   
  
Date: 5/8/04 9:12:02 PM (Originally written in March 2004)  
  
Author's notes: Anything appearing in brackets [ ] indicates character's thoughts or telepathic communication.   
  
The Stone King Part IV  
  
The Following Night...  
  
Gesham stolidly perched in a warrior's stance just before the city's gates with legs crouched, arms folded, and wings majestically draped over broad shoulders. The warrior's austere scrutiny cast a hazy auramine gleam, giving the illusion that his eyes were solid, luminous orbs of living light. (Ah, Dear Reader, a bit of sound advice: knowing a Gargoyle's immanent quintessence and tenor requires merely observing his eyes and the motions of his tail.) The very tip of Gesham's wheaten tail lashed repetitively along the ground leaving shallow impressions in the loose sand. It's constant motion betrayed his escalating unrest, mounting impatience, and barely constrained elation at the mere thought of Ashatsinu's close proximity.  
  
The restless soldiers in Gesham's midst knew it meant certain wrath to cross words with the laconic defender of the night. Common superstition forewarned many of the city guard that a Gargoyle's illuminated gaze brought catastrophe to any unfortunately caught in it's way. No man with a handful of good judgment dared voice the unspoken question to Gesham, "So, what has your tail in such a twist?" Gargoyle and human warriors alike trained under his tutelage knew Gesham as a Gargoyle of forbearing temperament and deliberating mind. Yet, on this particular eve of the Courting Moon, he displayed the impetuous behavior more akin of a young Sire longing to sharpen his talons in first battle.  
  
Beneath the gabardine folds of buff-hued wings, talons drummed with burgeoning agitation, knowing Ashatsinu drew closer. A young soldier standing next to Gesham heard a virtually inaudible muttering of some feral gibberish beneath the Gargoyle's breath. If translated, the soldier would have found great humor in knowing that the winged warrior recited hatchling's daybreak rookery tales in Draconic to keep his instinct keen, alertness sharp, and masculine needs dormant. For you see, Dear Reader, the night was, indeed, the night of the Courting Moon and brave Gesham knew no immunity to it's arousing consequences.   
  
A Mating moon compelled unmated Sires and Dames in courting a potential consort. While these thoughts ran through the Gargoyle's perplexed consciousness, he berated his lack of discipline at his body's immediate demand for physical gratification. He sent a silent prayer skywards to Skylaris for his wings hiding his goddess-bestowed endowments that rose proudly in masculine tribute when images of Ashatsinu flitted through his mind. The lucid remembrances of her feminine curves melded against him and the cherished poignancies conveyed in her kisses brought forth a mating urge within Gesham verging on mania.  
  
He let his gaze rise and meet the ruby crescent moon that shone down upon him, enveloping him in rich, vermilion moonlight. "Skylaris, your test my limits with this madness."  
  
Another deep, perplexed growl rose and greeted the sliver of moon hanging in the late night sky above him. "Damnation, Trickster! I have lived fifty-four seasons and you see fit to now make me tremble as much as an untested young Sire shortly before his mating flight. Have you no mercy upon your one who strives to do your will?"  
  
Gesham allowed his mind contemplation of the unlikely indulgence of courting Ashatsinu. He would present her with a fresh kill of a desert gazelle, proving his superior skills as an exceptional hunter and worthy provider for all of her needs and those of her immediate family. The warrior imagined himself bent upon one knee presenting his Intended Beloved with delectable baked confections, exotic fruits from faraway lands and exquisite blooms brought within Amor's city walls by foreign traders. He abruptly rid his mind of such fatuous fancies and implausible dreams inspired, he knew, by a Gargoyle's devotion and primal cupidity of a courting moon.  
  
Gesham once considered the option of pairing off with another unmated male and assuaging the demanding carnality cresting with him, but immediately dismissed the notion as disdainful. Gesham conceded the traditional prerogative, questing diligently for purity and chastity until he took his one true Mate to den and loved her fiercely and well. His uxorious aspirations caused his heart great delight in relishing the sensual pleasures only with his intended Mate. He chuckled at the irony beset upon him by the trickster he called Goddess. Paradox founded by her advised against coupling with a human because of disparities in strength, constitution and lifetimes. Still, Gesham's heart and psyche knew well the wondrous epiphany of the Reckoning whenever Ashatsinu filled his thoughts. The bleakest depths of his soul knew redemption and completion as his inner darkness refracted love's glory found in Ashatsinu's devotion. The truant fragments of his fractured heart found contentment in the convictions, aspirations, and trepidations he and his Beloved shared.  
  
He cursed the seven hells and three heavens for the discord escalating within him with each passing night. His revered goddess gave tenants that his clan honored since time immortal: the sanctity of clan, being defenders before being warriors, the reverence and cherishment of Simianites, the protection and erudition of Humanity, and the unseen fiat that admonished conjugal bonds with Humans. Many nights under the light of a full golden moon, silent tears never outwardly wept scalded Gesham's shattered heart as he recognized that his love for Ashatsinu was improbable in the conventional design of the natural order. Yet, enlightenment eluded Gesham as to why his eternal soul and devotion anointed Ashatsinu as his true mate. Disregard of the tenets' guidance was rebellion against tradition. Yet, denying the gift of the Reckoning meant disavowing the Skylaris' greatest blessing: true, everlasting love.   
  
Gesham closed his eyes, folded his wings, bowing his head in silent communion with the Lady. [Oh my Goddess, I come to you in humility and confusion. I need your guidance in this matter. I deny your truths for the sake of my heart and embrace convention and doing so denies me the Dearest One of My Heart. Help me. I beseech you.]  
  
A soldier along Amor's parameter sounded the signaling cornu. The rich, deep swell bellowed through the gently moving desert air, breaking the Gargoyle's pensive reverie. The blast prompted Gesham to climb Amor's granite walls for a better view of the Princess' approaching caravan. His heart nearly burst with elation as the long procession steadily made its way toward the city gates. Escorted by a battalion of Sodom's finest warriors, the night came alive with the joy and jubilation brought on by the sight of the convoy of camels, wagons, and foreign nobles. Gesham avidly searched each coach from his vantage point for some sign of which carried Ashatsinu, but all the windows came covered with thick, dark material. [Where are you, Reh'Hahl?]  
  
Gesham closed his eyes and let the recollections of her scent, the lilting contralto of her voice, the delicate caress of her lips along his skin, the taste of their first kiss and the vision of her dark eyes carry him to a place only they knew. The world around him silenced and all became still as he immersed himself in heartfelt recollections of his adored Ashatsinu. He envisioned his Beloved enveloped within his wings, the mating scents of exotic spices intoxicating her senses until she melted in his embrace. He longed to feel the satiny smoothness of her blushing cheek against his strong heart that beat in tribute of her love. His essence reached out and searched for her psyche that tempered his heart for the divinity of their love. Above the procession, his mind traveled the delicate argent strands that connected all in the world to the psionic realm. He instinctively sought out the other half that completed him. Gesham's Heartmagick reached beyond the wandering thoughts of weary handmaidens and wary armed escorts as he wanted fusion with the woman he called mate. An ancient melody hallmarking those breathtaking memories echoed lightly and tenderly through his besotted musings as one name fell from his lips, "Ashatsinu."  
  
Ashatsinu felt weary from the arduous journey from Eridu to Amor and she sought solace from the sun and the sand. To no avail none came, for sand still found its way into every seam and crevice of her attire, irritating her soft skin. She knew the time drew closer when protocol demanded her appearance in court before her father. With that thought resoundingly haunting her, the Princess to nervously brushed the remaining grains of sand from her outer garments. She checked the fastening of her veil and made certain it remained securely in place covering all her face save her eyes. The folds of soft silk fell over her form and concealed virtually every inch of her dark skin from public view. How she longed for freedom beyond the black velvet drapes covering the windows and simply desired reprieve from the demands placed upon her because of her station. Her wild spirit yearned for signs of progress showing progress in Amor's construction. [Anything would be better than this intolerable prison called a coach.]  
  
Ashatsinu's weary muscles ached from the long, exhausting trek across the desert and she welcomed the fluffy cushions that cradled her aching body. She sank into the satin pillows and let their downy comfort draw the soreness from her limbs. She rested her head against the side of the carriage, silently hoping that Skylaris saw fit in removing the constant throbbing from Ashatsinu's temples. Her eyes closed and the hectic finality of a daunting fate no longer slammed relentlessly inside the recesses of her thoughts. [So much to do in so little time.] The Princess gladly welcomed the blackness enveloping her consciousness.  
  
She felt velvety warmth swathe her person, cheerfully snuggled deeper into encompassing, unseen gentleness. She reminisced how such a feeling reminded her of her beloved tutor, Gesham. Ashatsinu recalled adoring the quiet warrior who gave her comfort in the enveloping folds of his wings. A husky hum of contentment escaped her as her mind became immersed in memories of days and loves long past. She heard a deep, laconic baritone purr fill her ears with a Draconic canticle that sang of lush, verdant wilderness, towering damson mountains and bubbling brooks of a faraway place. Only one Gargoyle sang that song to her and Ashatsinu knew, sure as Sheol, that it was not her nanny.  
  
"Gesham." A quiet murmur escaped her full lips. She remembered his singular essence, as it filled the small space within the carriage. Hints of sandalwood mingled delightfully with strains of vanilla and fresh leather. Ashatsinu inhaled deeply and took the scent far into her lungs while remembrances of halcyon times gave her a freedom that she no longer possessed. She imagined that she laced her fingers amongst Gesham's wheaten talons. The seat of the carriage vanished in Ashatsinu's vision and became the broad chest of her first, truest love.   
  
She turned her head toward the strong cadence of a heartbeat and instinctively sought that which she had dreamt of for four endless seasons; Ashatsinu felt the gentle strength of warm lips press against hers. She felt cherished as the kiss deepened and she felt a Gargoyle's lips claim hers in silent conquest and obvious surrender. Ashatsinu inhaled and the taste and scent of vanilla entered her lungs so that he became the air she breathed. She exhaled and the sweet taste of exotic fruit remained upon her lips. She dared not open her eyes lest she shattered the blissful moment filling her senses and enchanting her mind. She pressed herself into the imagined masculine warmth holding her protectively knowing that it was little more than the remnants of a youthful fantasy.  
  
"No!" Her voice bellowed, cutting though the icy silence filling the interior of the coach. Resolution became the undercurrent of her outburst, banishing the bittersweet chimera from her thoughts. With an action resembling a wave of dismissal, the Princess clustered her deliberations upon the approaching repast and gala announcing her arranged betrothal to Halmu, King of Sodom. Ashatsinu despondently shook her head and eagerly rid herself of the enthralling reverie holding her heart captive. A solitary tear traced a lonely path down her cheek and fell into the dark silk folds of her veil.   
  
She recollected well the sorrowful day when Gesham shunned her tributes of adoration and devotion. With a shattered heart and a hewed psyche, Ashatsinu perfunctorily cleaved the lingering vestiges of amorous pining from her being. A ruthless constraint infused the bereft depths and ragged slashes left upon her soul. She felt the final strains of puerile innocence rent asunder from her by providence and obligation. She embraced Fate and resolutely attuned her focus on the welcoming blackness that claimed her, for Sleep was her taskmaster for the remainder of the ride.  
  
A sudden rush filled the warrior's mind as a mixed response of surrender and pleasure; it's psionic force sent him stumbling backwards. He felt the warmth of her hand as she entwined her slender fingers with his raptorial talons. The gentle fanning of her breath as she placed her face into the curve of his masculine neck mildly incited a strident roar of masculine jubilation from Gesham. He buried his face into the silky black folds of her veil and inhaled the enrapturing fragrances of jasmine, night orchid and exotic blooms that grew far beyond the oasis of Amor. Gone were the lingering strains of innocence and impetuousness from the child he once knew. Instead, he caught the definite, integral scent of a confident young woman anticipating the discovery of her mate. A growl of virile pride escaped Gesham as he cloaked Ashatsinu within the folds of his wings. He crooked a talon and anticipated guiding her chin so that she met his gaze.  
  
"No." An invasion of discordant babble shattered the sublime liaison fusing their hearts and emotions. Gesham found he stood alone amongst the city's soldiers. A roar of vexation left the Gargoyle as someone or something abrupt severed the newfound connection that he shared with Ashatsinu. Their deepest, private thoughts touched transiently and jubilation came to him. His Beloved was a woman transformed by fortitude, abstinence and resolve. The depression dwelling within her clung to her as a asphyxiating shroud while it drained the zeal for living from her constitution. [What has transformed Ashatsinu into the pale wraith that now resides in her stead?]  
  
Gesham strode heatedly past the armed human garrison to his Second-In-Command. Shadows crossed the clan leader's ruggedly becoming features by incandescence incited by a Gargoyle's primal instincts. Many of the troops silent stepped backwards in avoidance of his unintentional wrath. He found his Second-In-Command coordinating defensive maneuvers with the human Sergeant-at-arms. "Take lead of the troops, I shall be gone the rest of the night."  
  
"May Skylaris stay by you." Mardok knew better than to say anything other that a blessing given any quest or venture. He knew well the reason for his leader's abrupt departure for the reckoning concealed beneath the flowing silk veils garbing a Princess.  
  
Ashatsinu felt crystalline cognizance roar to life within as she watched the eventide swallow the sun. The western horizon became a vibrant mural of brilliant hues of vermilion, amber, indigo and jet. Ethereal white clouds tinged with silver reflected the many colors upon the sands below. Intuition caused her mind to register the Gargoyles' awakening along the parameter of the city walls. Ashatsinu thanked their Draconic deity for allowing her to be a very Human part of the communal bond that Gargoyles shared. Ashatsinu knew it was a blessing and a gift from a goddess that rarely delved into Human affairs. Ashatsinu knew that she shared an intimacy with Gesham's clan that remained enigmatic and unfathomable, thus far to her. That psionic bond drew her to back to the oasis.   
  
She was ecstatic; she was out of the carriage and in the comfort of Halmu's harem.  
  
The Princess opened the shutters to her windows and inhaled deeply the scents of sand and dahlia blossoms from the nearby oasis in the center of the city. The noise of the city's citizens filled her ears; carts clacking over smooth cobblestone streets and the various dialects of the region made the city seem in an endless fit of chaos and chatter. The fading heat of the desert sun gently warmed bronzed skin beneath the flowing silk of her indigo violet veils. Ashatsinu knew intrinsically when the sun rose and set and when the stone guardians of her city came to life. While in Eridu, she forgot the glorious feelings of simply being alive.  
  
Impending nightfall brought out Amor's finest troubadours, aerialists, acrobats and dervishes. In addition, the city's usually discreet courtesans and harlots arrantly plied their trades on Amor's city streets. Slavers from Sodom brought their Human wares within the city walls and sold their products to the highest bidders. Urchins begged in the streets for dinars from the passing nobles of Amor. The bazaar in the city square hustled and bustled with haggling patrons questing for the best bargain and enterprising merchants seeking the most profit. Ashatsinu watched the activity from the quarters where the entire harem remained housed. She knew it was no longer her father's city, for now it sported the worst elements of Humanity.  
  
"Why don't we simply open the city gates and issue the Utakku's vampires an invitation?" She growled.  
  
The Princess looked around at the room in which she resided, or held against her will, never quite able to decide which was the proper perspective. Towering marble pillars from Ur held up a domed roof imported from the furthest reaches of the Phoenician empire. The murals adorning the doomed ceiling hallmarked the finest artists in the region and the floors beneath the princess's sandaled feet laid by the finest carpenters west of Babylon. Gold veins adorned the black, polished marble and crept upwards through the complex designs of the marble pillars. Ashatsinu silently studied the dozen women beside her in the harem and noted they were as young as fourteen seasons. She saw two others, older than her, talking quietly in the corner near the window opposite of the one where she stood.  
  
She briskly walked over to them and merely stood within earshot. They spoke of their homes and their families and how neither one had seen either since they had married Halmu. As one of the women brushed away an errant strand of her from her face, the strap of silk fell from her shoulder and a ghastly crimson welt marred the woman's otherwise flawless complexion. Ashatsinu rushed over to the woman who was only, perhaps, three seasons older than she and laid a hand on her blemished shoulder.  
  
"Did Halmu do this to you?" Ashatsinu asked urgently.   
  
The older wife blankly stared at her and then let her eyes fall, choosing study of the intricate patterns of the marble floor. Ashatsinu clutched firmly the woman's chin, guiding her fallen gaze to the Princess' dark eyes. "I asked you a question, Nodea. Did Halmu do this to you?"  
  
"My husband did nothing. I -I displeased him and I received punishment for my transgression." Nodea's voice nervously quivered more with each passing word. "You would be wise to tend to you business and your tongue if you wish not to know more of the same."  
  
"That mark I recognize well -it is from one of the whips he brandishes when he drives his chariots." The Princess hissed. "So, does he flog all of his wives?"  
  
"Not if they keep their council and do as he bids them." The other woman replied. "Please, Ashatsinu, keep your voice down! It displeases his Majesty if we speak poorly of him. He had Mecyane (pronounced Meh-sigh-ann-ee, Dear Reader) beheaded for her insubordination. Please, I've already displeased him once, he'll have me killed if I do so again."  
  
"No, he won't." Ashatsinu vowed vehemently. "Not while I have anything to say about it."  
  
"He will break you too and kill you if you don't know your place." Nodea hissed. "We have the finest veils and foods brought to us. Our families know affluence and wealth because of Halmu's generosity and in return, we need only to bear him an heir and pleasure him when he desires one of us. Don't ruin it for the rest of us, Amorite."  
  
"This is insane." Ashatsinu growled. "Let my father fight his own battles. I'll do better fighting the Soulless in battle than being Halmu's next victim."  
  
"You, a woman?" Nodea looked at Ashatsinu as though the Princess reeked with madness. "Next, you'll be telling that All-Father has made you his personal prophet. You will be the death of us all."  
  
Ashatsinu stomped away from the two women and let her clenched fist drive hard into the white stucco of the wall. The damson veils she wore concealed two precious sais given to her four years prior as a gift from her grudgingly beloved mentor and friend, Arana. She found herself betrothed to a man that openly allowed such iniquity to reign free upon her father's lifelong dream. Ashatsinu bowed her head when she realized the price of saving Humanity from the Soulless was to forsake any Humanity left within each denizen of Amor. She prayed to the Powers-That-Be for the fortitude and wisdom needed in drawing Halmu away from his baleful ways and towards the path of integrity and ethics. She longed for simpler times when she ran free and wild with the Gargoyles over the sifting sand dunes just outside the city. The gentle psionic bond that ebbed and flowed amidst the clan stood as a monolithic reminder of feelings and times Ashatsinu fought daily to exorcize from her heart. Gesham was a part of her past and it was best for all there he remained.   
  
"Those days are gone." The Princess spoke aloud to the murals on the walls. "It sickens me, knowing that this city is awash in debauchery."   
  
"As it should, Child." A warm, throaty feminine voice replied. "So, now what are you going to do about it?"  
  
The irreverent response jolted Ashatsinu from her silent reverie and turned to see a Dame standing only a few feet away. With wings cloaked, she was an intimidating silhouette standing in the shadows of the evening shade. Canine eyes gleamed with the sparks of verdant emerald. The lingering scents of sage, orchids and mint wafted around the elder Dame leaning against the white marble pillar supporting the domed roof. Ashatsinu's brow rose in sardonic disdain at the casual address directed to her friend and mentor. "Such a comment made so openly means, Arana, that you are either very courageous or rather ignorant."   
  
"It is an evil world out there and it will not last much longer." The Dame turned her head toward the woman. "All that has been prophesied will soon transpire."  
  
"Believing in prophecy is for fools and weaklings." Ashatsinu turned away from her mentor in a rare bout of cynicism. "The world is shaped by the sword and not by mutterings made by an Shamaness."  
  
Ashatsinu gasped silently when she noticed green eyes become jade and elliptical and then return to their vibrant emerald hue. "It was a prophecy that guided you to this fate."  
  
"No, it was politics that brought me to this place. The only way I will find release for my people from this charade is either through war or death; both lead to the same end, you know."  
  
"Destruction." The Dame's growl filled the room.  
  
"No, a good night's sleep." Ashatsinu shot back.  
  
Ashatsinu felt the warm suede wings embrace her while the Dame's Jackyl-like head rested upon her shoulder. A voice spoke softly in her ear and inside her thoughts, rekindling dying embers of hope. "As Sodom's Queen, Ashatsinu, you will have the King's ear. A delicious whisper will bring a male into your sphere of influence far more so than any shrill battle cry. Use what you have learned and be the true dayspring of fidelity and grace that Halmu needs to be a good sovereign."  
  
"How?" Ashatsinu let her flat palm slam against the cool marble wall. "To Halmu, I'm nothing more than a pretty piece of property, if that."  
  
"You have been chosen to Sodom's queen, wife above all other wives within his harem! He will take your council with great consideration."  
  
"Is that before or after he has me flogged, Arana?"  
  
"Have you learned nothing in all this time?" Arana's wings flared to their partial expanse and emerald eyes glowed with a familiar glow of an incensed dame. "Has all your tutoring been for naught? Ashatsinu, you know what you must do and who you must be! Abide as his canon of probity and rid the land of the ignominy tainting your homeland by means of your bewildering pulchritude, beguiling charm, and acute sagacity. Zillah has edified you in the art of battle and I have shown you the ways of politesse; only you can guide Halmu to a course to save our peoples from the vampires that wish your kind dead and my clan enslaved."  
  
"I thought I could go through with this, Arana." Ashatsinu shrugged helplessly. "I'm sorry, I can't. I can no more feign being some insipid, meek and obedient concubine than you can remain flesh in daylight. I thought I could, but I realized last night that such a subterfuge is beyond me. I will much sooner condemn my people to certain death if I pretend to be Halmu's little plaything and he finds that I am the exact opposite of what he was expecting!"  
  
"You are the last chance at victory over Utakku and against the evil you see out there walking in the streets."  
  
"I'm also no one's fool." Ashatsinu sneered. "I'm to be the consort of the true hero and I'm sorry, Arana, Halmu sure as Sheol isn't it! I am to marry the Stone King and he is to be the savior of Gargoyles and Humanity. If you tell me that you think that the Stone King is Halmu, then just hand me a scimitar and let me slit my throat now to spare me the pain of stupidity."  
  
"There may be more than one way to see a Stone King." Arana remained stalwart against Ashatsinu's tirade.  
  
"That sounds cryptic." The Princess mumbled as she fixed her gaze upon Arana.  
  
"The only difference between Fate and Destiny is who is reining her chariot." The Dame uncloaked her wings from her volatile charge. "You've never been one to let someone else drive."  
  
"I would have been one to believe that in seasons past, but none can escape the plan Fate has for each soul."  
  
"Oh, stop!" The sound of disgust in Arana's husky voice came out as a low, rumbling growl. "Let's return to the basic lessons of the Gargoyle Way. Granted, your so-called 'fate' was set in stone, pardon the pun, by your All-Father. Normally, Humans such as you are beyond the Goddess' jurisdiction."  
  
"I understand this." Ashatsinu stepped behind the dressing screen, giving her a few minutes reprieve from the fate that awaited her. Beneath the velvet and satin pillows, she reached and pulled out the priceless gift that Arana and Zillah had given her. She quickly opened the box and stared at the two mithral sais adorned in gold, silver and copper. The Kiarite stones ornamenting the weapons' hilts twinkled as if they were eyes staring back at her. The princess pursed her lips in unspoken contemplation while she ran her fingers along their smooth, blunt edges. The weapons epitomized ornamentation and exquisite craftsmanship. Yet, she knew there crafted also as weapons of war. A dream worth having was a dream worth fighting for with one's last breath, Zillah once told Ashatsinu.   
  
"Your god has decreed it through his prophets that you shall marry the King of Sodom to save your people from Utakku's tribe." Arana seemingly floated to the young woman's side. "That, however is ALL He declared. You also have your mother's blood flowing through your veins and that makes you a charge of the Goddess. If there is one thing that All-Father and She agree upon, this marriage must take place. But, Little One, where there is a certitude there is also a prerogative."  
  
Ashatsinu took the sais from their velvet resting place and found the leather straps needed to secure the weapons beneath the folds of her garments. Quickly, she tied the knots and check to see that the sais were tight in their sheaths. She knelt and pushed their box beneath the pillows. [No once else will do what justice requires, that I shall do what is required of me to save my people.]  
  
"I thought by marrying him I would be doing the right thing for all of Amor." A tear gleamed unshed in Ashatsinu's eye as she answered her mentor. The Princess stepped from behind the dressing screen and met Arana's gaze. She motioned wildly toward the open window. "Four years ago, I never would have seen prostitutes and slave-traders walking amongst my people."  
  
"Your fate is unwritten until you deem its conclusion. All-Father gave you elective discretion; Skylaris gives you dominion over destiny. Choice and Will are your integral allies and few Gargoyles or Humans ever know both in their lives. Never simply accept Fate, Ashatsinu. Always, ALWAYS, be the architect of your future. There will be opportunities, Child, seize them! Until then, do not give up and do not give in. Bend, but never break and you will come out above and beyond all of this."  
  
"You know, Arana, you are absolutely right." A small smile haunted Ashatsinu's lips for a fleeting second as she checked the fastening of her veil in the mirror hanging next to the open window. "I felt Gesham inside my mind last night."  
  
"By the Goddess!" Arana's voice was little more than a raspy gasp. "The Reckoning?"  
  
"Yes, I'm positive." The Princess sighed. "It hasn't faded with time, Arana."  
  
"You know it is rare for Humans to feel the Reckoning with a DeMahri?"  
  
"And I also know that it dangerous for me to be feeling it on the eve of my betrothal announcement to Halmu and have Gesham lurking about the innermost recesses of my mind." Ashatsinu finished for the elder Dame. "I've been telling myself that I must see this marriage through for the greater good of my kin and my clan. Yet, everything in my body wants to forsake everything and just find Gesham."  
  
"Such is the way of the Reckoning, Dear. Those are the stirrings of a young Dame waiting to awaken." Arana embraced the Princess gently within the suede folds of her wings. "Have you seen him?"  
  
"No, not yet. I have no need for further complications." Ashatsinu sighed heavily. "I thought such things had long passed away. I can't look at him knowing that I am about to be married."  
  
"Nor will you if you are wise."  
  
"I know." Ashatsinu's voice was barely above a whisper. "I know what I have to do and I'm going to be the Princess tailored for Halmu's every taste and whim, I promise, Arana."  
  
"Wisdom is your strong suit."  
  
The Night of the Feast....  
  
Halmu rested in the ornately carved chair of ivory and mahogany, taking in the unadulterated opulence filling the main hall. He, Kenan, and the foreign nobles from surrounding city-states sat above the masses upon a long, marble dais (imported from South of the Nile) just for the celebration. Flowing, vermilion velvet draperies hung from the rafters of the banquet hall behind them bearing the crest of Sodom -a sword and a chariot. The sovereign smiled with pleasure, leisurely eyeing the gold and onyx mural of Utu: Sumerian Sun deity, driving his chariot across a sky of lapis lazuli capturing his intended consort. Golden braziers stood at each end of the black marble dais and burned brightly with flames brought from Tiamat's sacred, eternal fires found only in her temple in Sodom. The heavy scent of incense and exotic spices filled the evening air, the intoxicating mix driving several guests into frenzy nearing lunacy.  
  
The table before Halmu sported the finest food of the realm: roast pig and freshly picked fruit from the oasis; servants poured red, rich wines into each noble's cup. Men drank in the dark beauty of the slaves and courtesans dancing nude on the tables and in their laps as court musicians played lively melodies. He leaned back in his mahogany throne and smiled with deep satisfaction as he contemplated plundering the riches of Kenan's kingdom. He spotted Niza sitting demurely at her father's feet and he subtly nodded to her, raising his goblet towards her in a silent toast.  
  
Sodom's king turned, looking over his shoulder to the Grand Vizier of his court. He watched Borak as he commanded the servants to bring him another appetizer and fill his goblet. Halmu watched his younger brother almost come alive with greed as he surveyed the wealth in Kenan's dining hall. The inlaid gold mosaic on the table was enough to bring the thickset Vizier into a visible drooling fit. The golden platters before them sported the finest kills of the Gargoyle hunt. Halmu knew well to keep his allies close and his brother closer; Borak was a calculating opportunist patiently waiting for his moment of prospect as a scorpion waited before it decimated its prey with one lethal, venomous sting of its tail. Yet, the pudgy man served his purpose with loquacious idioms and deceitful adulations of anyone unfortunately listening to his smooth and senseless prattle.  
  
"Is all to your liking, My King?" Borak's shrill tenor whined in Halmu's ears.  
  
"I find it adequate, brother."  
  
"This is, indeed, a great night for the tribe of Azazel." Borak rubbed his clammy palms together in anticipation. "By sunrise, the city will be yours and by next nightfall, you shall be immortal."  
  
"Silence!" Halmu barked at his younger brother. "Your loose words could ruin everything."  
  
The Grand Vizier bowed deeply so that his bulbous nose brushed the smooth marble dais beneath them. He gestured his right hand in the customary rolling motion signaling his contriteness and submission. "A thousand pardons, My King, my enthusiasm at your impending victory heightens my minds and causes leave of my good sense."  
  
Halmu decidedly disregarded his brother's rambling from that moment on, focusing his attention upon the aged ally seated next to him. He focused his gaze upon Kenan, remembering how once, his reputation deemed him a consummate combatant and an artful statesman. Now, age and dementia reduced the once great warrior king to a frail, feeble, mindless old man.  
  
Halmu studied the old man garbed simply in white. Kenan seemed far more weakened than he had been the previous night. Halmu allowed a rare smile to grace his lips; Niza's potions found success, slowly draining the elder chieftain of what little remained of his earthly life from his body. Kenan would know death soon enough. The alliance with Utakku assured him that he would know riches and the Soulless One would have a steady supply of blood and slave labor. Halmu knew that he wanted Utakku's eternal wounding to give him immortality. All was good in Amor.  
  
Gesham scrutinized his likeness the reflecting glass, agitatedly analyzing his appearance. Flaxen locks hung loosely down his back, some tied back with a leather cord. Golden armbands inscribed with Draconic battle incantations adorned his muscular upper arms. In his left ear, a carmine fire opal dangled: a reminder of his and Kenan's first battle against the Soulless. Two golden amber topazes were a flaming contrast to his white canines. He smirked as he remembered how the clan healer had thought Gesham strange, wishing to replace the gems he first embedded in his teeth when he made his first hunting kill as an adult. Now, he wore these new gems, replacing the old, with new inspiration: vanity drove him to look his best for his Princess' return.  
  
He wore white linen sarong embroidered with gold at the waist and hem fell to his mid-thigh revealing a dark, black dragon tattoo upon his café au lait skin. Around his neck hanging upon a beaded strand of verdant fluorite and amethyst: a jade dragon and a golden birthright ring that came from Ashatsinu. His most treasured adornment and keepsake of the hoyden princess; it was a tangible remembrance of a love forbidden and forsworn. Tan talons lovingly ran along the smoothness of the small gold band as an onrush of cherishing devotion and ardent poignancy filled Gesham.  
  
All males, save the eunuchs guarding Halmu's harem, knew it forbidden to feast their eyes upon any of his wives, concubines and courtesans. The women were little better than exotic pets in jeweled kennels kept for show, breeding and epicurean pleasures with Ashatsinu being one of his trophies. Gesham let his brow fall upon the cool marble of the corridor wall, fighting the forming tears scalding his heart. Footsteps echoed in the distance and he quickly reassumed a stoic, tacit stance. A young soldier, perhaps no more that seventeen or eighteen seasons, gingerly approached Kenan's personal lieutenant.  
  
"L-lord Gesham, hail!" The young man bowed slightly, and then touched his hand to brow and breast, as was Amorite custom. "I bring word from King Halmu."  
  
Gesham stifled a dry chuckle as he watched the young man's fear almost become a puddle at his sandaled feet. Obviously, the neophyte Sodomite never before had laid eyes upon a DeMahri warrior. "Speak, boy, before my temperance wanes."  
  
"King Halmu requires your presences near the women's quarters. He wishes you to escort the Princess and her entourage to the dining hall."  
  
Tawny wings cloaked elegantly upon the DeMahri's broad shoulders. His eyes gleamed with amber exhilaration at the thought of being so near his Re'Hahl. The very tip of his tail shuttered with barely constrained elation. He nodded in humble acquiescence. "Lead the way."  
  
Gresham inhaled deeply the night air into his lungs as thoughts of her timeless beauty filled his mind. He remembered the scent of exotic fruit and rare desert orchids suffusing him in a memory of one delightful woman. The thought of his huntress of quick wit and keen mind was loveliness beyond anything captured in a mural or in the simple notes of a song. Ashatsinu's devout temperament of loyalty and compassion ascended beyond any artisan's aesthetic ability of creation. [She is the breath and flame of Skylaris in form and nature, and the Hand of All-Father could not have made a better woman.]  
  
Tan talons found the signet ring hanging from his neck, and cool metal became abruptly warm to his touch. He strode down the stone corridor to the rooms to the harem rooms' location and he stopped in front of the door. He noticed to eunuchs standing guard looking quite foppish in their face paint and flowing, colorful robes. Gresham snorted and the flamboyant pair shrank back toward the wall behind them. "Summon the Princess and announce her servant's presence."  
  
"At once, Lord Gresham." One excited nodded in compliance. The eunuch dashed inside the room, almost tripping over his bright robes. As the door slammed behind him, Gresham chuckled quietly as strains of cursing came from a tenor voice. The robe caught fast on the bottom corner of the door and ripped, exposing the eunuch's backside to the sheltered women of Halmu's harem.  
  
Gresham folded his wings and waited for his Princess's appearance. One moment passed and then two, he felt time slowly creeping by him. His talons began tapping in a rapid cadence against his arm as his impatience mounted. [Why must it be that females are always late? If they were warriors, they would be late to their own battles.]  
  
"Lord Gresham, may I present her Highness, Princess Ashatsinu of Amor."  
  
Gresham thought it a redundant action to introduce to him the girl he had known since her birth. Yet, eunuchs were about pomp, circumstance and protocol. He turned his gaze to the veiled form standing before him the doorway.  
  
Ashatsinu was truly stunning. The Gargoyle forgot to breathe.  
  
Gone were the shrouding black veils that garbed her in his previous vision. Now, Ashatsinu of Amor wore the hues befitting of her station in life -rich burgundy and dark damson. The finest platinum adorned her ears and wrists and the elusive scent of perfumed oil wafted through the air and met the Gargoyle's sensitive nostrils. Her nails were painted, and he recognized it as a tradition common amongst the Dames of his clan. Upon her covered wrist, a hint of indigo revealed caught his eyes. Without a word, swift talons clasped the Princess' wrist and pulled back the covering purple silk. The intricate pattern of a dragon beginning just below her palm and wrapped itself around the rest of her wrist.  
  
He pressed his brow to hers and she did the same, as was the customary greeting between close friends within the clan. "Re'Hahl'Tigh, Golei'th'em. Kah'Rhi Eehm, Skylaris rhoe Vr'Reem."  
  
[Beloved Warrior, By the Dragon, Skylaris has kept you safe.] The Princess's telepathic echoed melodiously inside his mind.  
  
Just a note that I wish to pass along, Dear Readers. Golei'th'em is a Draconic word that loosely translates "Leader and Protector." Pronounced correctly, it sounds suspiciously close to another ancient name of that time, "Golayeth." In the human tongue, a particular Philistine warrior adopted as his personal name, mispronouncing it as "GO-LYE-ITH." Thus, the name found itself in the annuls of history for all time. Remember, nothing occurs purely without meaning before the Goddess of Gargoyles. Even in these days of glass and steel towers, the Goddess' influences touches all.  
  
"Re'Hahl, berahcch er'ron bacch drae." Gresham heard the ancient tongue of his goddess fall from his lips. Draconic was a custom fading with time and lack of use because the language's exotic vowels and consonants mimicked growls. The poor Simianites commented that the olden parlance harkened back to times when beast's roamed free and feral creatures ruled the night. Gesham's heart broke every time a DeMahri tradition faded into obscurity because it seemed obsolete to the warriors of his clan. Exaltation filled him when the language of his clan flowed freely from his Princess' mouth as water from a dayspring. She honored her chaperone, Arana, her adopted Goddess, and the warrior who loved her by embracing their life and the Gargoyle Way.  
  
Ashatsinu smiled at his return greeting. The words translated easily because of the countless lessons sitting with Arana and studying by oil lamp after the rest of Inhokomen's household had retired for the evening. "Princess, Skylaris blesses you with Grace and keeps you protected within her wings."  
  
Ashatsinu fought the wild, unrestrained urge to kiss the tall, muscular warrior standing too close to her. She saw the two eunuchs studying them in befuddled uncertainty and she quickly withdrew from Gesham's intimate touch. "Now, you know I am safe, loyal servant of the King."  
  
"He was making sure that I had a safe journey." She turned her attention to the eunuchs. "What are you staring at? Paint a mural. The image will last longer that way."  
  
"Your Highness, we meant no disrespect." The younger one quickly bowed. "Nevertheless, should your bodyguard be allowed to greet you with such familiarity?"  
  
"First, this is an old family friend who has known me since my birth, hardly one taking liberties with my modesty. Also remember, Gesham is one of the preeminent of the DeMahri clan and their chosen leader. He is also a noble of the Amorite court and a close advisor to Amor's King. Your kind are guests in this city because of my father's courtesy and you had best commit to memory that his graciousness keeps you alive if I so choose it."  
  
"Highness, please forgive-" The older eunuch laid a hand upon the younger one's shoulder. "Hectus. He is young and brash."  
  
"And since when did you learn to speak the DeMahri tongue?!" Ashatsinu barked harshly. "You forget your place, Eunuch. I urge to remember it or you will lose YOUR tongue as you have, already, some of your more important body parts."  
  
"Your Highness, with all due respect, I have spoken the DeMahri tongue longer than you have been alive. I apprenticed under Arana's tutelage when she was Warden of the Clan rookery a few decades prior." He bowed for a second time before her. "I forgot my place, Highness. I beg your forgiveness."  
  
"You can earn it with your silence and your discretion." Ashatsinu glowered at the androgynous warden of Halmu's harem. "Otherwise, my future husband's executioner will have need of sharpening his axe."  
  
The puddle of golden liquid pooling at the younger Eunuch's feet told Ashatsinu that he implicitly comprehended her inferred meaning. She glanced at them and pointed down the corridor. "Now, leave us. If anyone asks, I am powdering my nose. I shall be there in ten minutes."  
  
"Yes, of course, Your Highness." He backed away, nearly tripping over his own feet. He and the other eunuch ran down the corridor without another look over their shoulder. Looking at Gesham, she nodded in the older Eunuch's direction, as if asking if his story was true.  
  
The clan leader cloaked his wings, folded his arms and nodded in return. "He speaks the truth, Princess."  
  
"You." She beckoned the older eunuch to remain. "Stay."  
  
He folded his hands together as if praying and bowed...or did he curtsey? "Yes, Highness, as you command."  
  
Gresham embraced the human woman within the broad, suede expanse of his wings. One crooked talon gently raised her chin to so that they eyes met. His eyes gleamed as brightly as the sun at high noon "There is a ferocity within that puts many of Dame to shame, 'Shatsu."  
  
"I do what I must." She framed his face within her hands. "As we all must do in these dark times."  
  
"I agree." His amber eyes found it difficult to meet her onyx gaze. "I thought it right, sending you away. Only when you departed from me did I realized the mistake I made. You and I are one, now and for eternity."  
  
"Gresham," Ashatsinu stepped away from his winged embrace and adjusted the violet veil to hide her face from the world. "Know that I shall always love you, but, I must save my people. Utakku's minions will strike soon as they know their time grows short. Once Halmu and Kenan's forces are united, then Humanity will finally vanquish the Soulless once and for all."  
  
"Ashatsinu-" Gesham's wings flared with surprise. He shrugged helplessly as he stared at her. "We can not deny what is between us. I thought-"  
  
"I'm not denying anything at all. Whereas the greater good of the Multitudes transcend the necessity of only some...or of two." She let her gaze fall away from his and studied the marble wall beside her. "Kenan's decree has existed since the night of my birth that I marry Halmu to save his, my, and your people from the vampires lurking just outside our city gates. Having him as my husband will bring about the fulfillment of the Stone King's prophecy. He shall rise, destroy the Soulless and give birth to a race of warriors that shall be greater than the inhabitants of either realm. Bards shall tell of our children's tales for a thousand years, for they shall be heroes of great renown."  
  
"You would lay with him!?" The very thought of another male touching his mate caused Gesham's anger to simmer and eyes to gleam brilliantly, flaming amber.  
  
"By the Dragon, Gresham! That is what is normally considered conjugal rights." She pressed a kiss to the back of his hands. "Please, as a clan leader, I know that you would do anything to protect your clan. I beg you, let me go and do what I need to protect mine. It is the only way."  
  
A fierce, low growl erupted from him. Clenched tan talons brought rich ruby drops streaming from his palms. "You are right. Nevertheless, I shall always be your protector. Never think for a moment, Ashatsinu, that I will leave your side."  
  
"Will you be content knowing I am another man's wife?"  
  
"Nay. I will be content to know that I am by you in whatever way the gods will let me be." A single tear traced a wet path down his chiseled cheek. "I shall speak my heart only once and then no more for all time. I love you, Ashatsinu. I shall always be your worthy mate and protector. Until Skylaris calls me to the stars, so shall I love you without hesitation and reservation."  
  
Ashatsinu realized that he completed the mating vows she had spoken to him four years prior on a warm desert night on the dunes not so far from Amor. The Princess pressed her brow to Gesham's, as was his clan's custom, and then she pressed her lips to his. The kiss, chaste yet compelling, brought a shattering effect upon them. Gesham's soul seeped into Ashatsinu and melded into the emptiness she had felt all of her life. Her breath of life filled his lungs and sustained him more so than his clan or goddess ever had. The clan leader trembled from the sheer passion and adoration that rocked his body and spirit for this woman. She fell into his arms as the zenith of their affection rushed through her. Both, at last, new true unity and completion."  
  
They heard someone clear his throat. "Highness, I must remind you that your betrothed awaits you."  
  
When all subsided, Gresham took from his ear a plain platinum hoop that garnished an amethyst. He brushed back the purple silken hiding Ashatsinu from the world's gaze and tenderly placed it in the third hole of her left ear. He pressed his brow to hers and let his tail wrap possessively around her waist.   
  
"What is this?" Ashatsinu wiped away a solitary stray tear.  
  
"A...betrothal gift.... for good luck." Gesham's deep voice cracked as his quiet words filled the hall. "A small token of one Gargoyle's devotion, true and steadfast. May it bring you good fortune as it has me. Never remove it."  
  
"I won't." She pressed her hand against his heart in the Draconic tradition of expressing love. "I shall wear it and never remove it."  
  
She turned her back from him, tucking the veil so the earring remained hidden from public view. Gresham watched Ashatsinu's shoulders straighten. "Escort me to meet my betrothed."  
  
Gresham reverently bowed his head in compliance. "As you wish, Your Highness."  
  
As the eunuch watched the Princess stoically make her way down the hall, he wondered why his Goddess unexpectedly forgot Her best warrior and his true love. It was not like Skylaris to turn away from a good love story. He shook his head and resignation at the thought that these two were destined for each other, but fate kept them apart. Green talons curled on his shoulder and he gasped. He saw two golden canine eyes gleam from the shadows. "Don't give up so quickly, remember there is always a snag in Fate's design. It's just up to a discerning seamstress to find its flaw and alter such a tapestry and redesign it to her liking."  
  
"Oh, Arena, you are a sly one." The older Eunuch smirked.  
  
"You have a flair for fashion, I think."  
  
"Oh, yes!" He clapped his hands with glee. "And I am looking forward to the task."  
  
Niza gingerly sipped the tangy fermented nectar from her tightly clenched goblet. Mingling with the heavy, wafting cloud of incense enveloping the celebrants, the spiced wine caused the sorceress's prescient gifts augmentation beyond her imagining. The fruity spirits in her chalice bestowed her with temerity; narcotic fumes floating in the air fueled her cunning. She felt the strains of Magick flow within, around, and through her body as she drank readily of the wine in hand.  
  
Her hand found the small leather pouched artfully concealed beneath the vermilion folds of her veils. She felt the contours of a small, ornately carved vial beneath the softened leather. Smiling slyly while thinking of its contents, her fingers gently caressed the ornate bottle. Inside it was an elixir waiting to touch Kenan's dried parched lips. Niza knew well the power of her potions -three of her late husbands found Death prematurely when she mixed her poisons with their food and drink. Though she knew it to be more than need to usher in Halmu's rule, Kenan's premature death would be another way to exact her justice upon his youngest child: the pampered, cosseted Ashatsinu.  
  
A voice sliced through her deliberate reverie. Niza turned on saw her father motioning to her. "Has sand found its way inside your ears?"  
  
"No, Father." She quickly ducked her veiled head in contriteness. "My apologies."  
  
"Daughter, come sit by me." Kenan's gnarled hand beckoned her. She billowed forth her crimson veils so that they fluttered around her like a flurry of rose petals blown by a desert sirocco. She gracefully lowered herself to the velvet pillows artfully placed by scampering servants besides the elder chieftain's throne.  
  
"I am in your service, Father." Niza demurely smiled and let her gaze fall to the floor.  
  
"Have I ever told you, My Niza, that I have always valued your talents?" He gave her a smile.  
  
Her dark eyes widened in amazement as his unexpected words of praise found her ears. Her tongue suddenly felt twice too large inside her parched mouth. "N-no, not to my knowledge."  
  
"I am not long for this world, Niza. Soon, All-Father will take my soul. Nevertheless, I wanted you to know that of all my daughters, of you I am the most proud."  
  
"F-father, I do not know what to say."  
  
"Then say nothing." He took her smooth hand in his gnarled one and brought it to his lips. He pressed a quick kiss to the back of it, then giving it a strong squeeze and a brief pat. "Your sister, Almira is graceful. Eden possesses your mother's beauty, Halimah is a consummate alchemist and Iman has talent in dance and music. Ashatsinu is a fine athlete -fiery and spirited, but you, dear Niza, All-Father's blessing bestow you with sorcery and Second Sight. Your gift of sight and your sagacity have always set you apart from my daughters."  
  
"I thank you for your kind words." Niza again bowed her head, with eyes shut. This time, her head bowed to hide the scalding tears that threatened to stain her silken face veil.  
  
"You are nearing your thirtieth year, Daughter." Kenan's heavy sigh filled her ears. "I wish to know that all my daughters are safe. I want you to travel with Ashatsinu to Sodom when she leaves with her husband. Seek a good life there and find a good man who will provide for you. Halmu has assured me that he is in need of a judicious counselor such as you. He told me you would find many of his younger brothers handsome to the eye and heavy with gold in their pockets."  
  
"I see."  
  
"Daughter, I love you as deeply as I loved your mother, Tizir, All-Father grant her soul peace. I want you to want for nothing and I want you to find joy. You have served me well these many years and have sacrificed much."  
  
"Father," Tears flowed freely now from topaz eyes. "Why tell me this now?"  
  
"Because wisdom only comes to the old and the dying." Kenan gave Niza another sad smile. "I will not leave this world without letting you know just how much joy you have brought to my life. Promise me that you will go to Sodom and watch over your sister."  
  
"I will." Niza spoke through gritted teeth at the mention of Ashatsinu.  
  
"Promise me also that you will serve Halmu as a valued advisor and oracle. He will need your clairvoyant and mystical gifts in the dark times yet to come."  
  
Niza's full voice came out little more than a ragged whisper. "I promise."  
  
Kenan nodded with satisfaction and his daughter saw a look of contentment on his face that had been missing for too many years. Vengeance killed festering rage and resurrected a daughter's long-buried love for her father. She said nothing as she discreetly hunted for the toxic vial concealed within her leather pouch beneath her robes.  
  
She quietly poured the contents into the plant sitting behind her and her father.  
  
Garbed in flowing damson silken veils from the Kingdom of Chin, the Princess fluid, graceful demeanor stunned silent all of the guests in the great dining hall. All eyes followed her movements as she made her way down the crimson coral tiles that ran from entrance to the dais where Kenan sat upon his opal and ivory throne. Ashatsinu's entourage came behind her so that they formed a "v": one to carry the lengthy trail of her veils, another carried a dark wooden box and yet another carried a golden vase. Gesham stood directly behind the Princess with a brilliant ocher gleam in his eyes. Trumpets blasted a melodious refrain as she made her way towards the chieftain. When they stopped, the elder eunuch stepped forward and bowed so low that his nose brushed the bottom step of the dais.  
  
He cleared his throat and proclaimed loudly, "Your Majesties, may I present to you, Ashatsinu; Princess of Amor."  
  
The crowd cheered jubilantly. The old man motioned his daughter closer. With her eyes upon the floor, she obeyed his command and knelt upon her knees before him. "Look at me, Ashatsinu Ben-Kenan."  
  
She did so without hesitation.  
  
"Tonight is the night, that you leave your childhood behind you and assume the mantle of womanhood. Now, bring your servants and your protector, for tonight you shall dine at my table not as Princess of Amor, but as Queen of Sodom."  
  
"As you command, Your Majesty." Ashatsinu demurely replied.   
  
"Kenan, you truly have outdone yourself." Halmu patted the old chieftain heartily on the back causing the elder to cough. "This feast surely pleases the gods."  
  
"It ushers in a time of peace and prosperity for our peoples." Kenan weakly rasped and greedily drank another swig of strong wine from his goblet. He motioned to the courtesans dancing near Sodom's monarch. "Eat, drink and enjoy the entertainment."  
  
"I shall be the luckiest man alive." Came the loud boast from Halmu. "I shall have your loveliest daughter as my bride and your smartest daughter as one of my advisors. Your winged beasts will fortify my defenses and, together, we shall defeat the Soulless."  
  
Mardok stood on one side of Ashatsinu while Gesham stood on the other, both warriors looking at the other in baffled indignation. They uttered the same word in unison. "BEASTS!?"  
  
The cheering crowd of nobles and commoners drowned out the primal growls of affronted Gargoyle pride. The Boy King snorted in silent, sardonic amusement at the blatant insult thrown by Halmu to the DeMahri warriors. He noted that Mardok's talons dug into his palm and Gesham's tail whipped about in ardent disapproval of the thoughtless words. King Inhokomen's painted brows furrowed in disdain at Halmu's pompous declaration. He sniffed is disdain, drawing a looked from Sodom's sovereign. The Eriduite King raised his chalice, rising to face the gathering of nobles, courtesans, and Amor's denizen. "Let us make a toast."  
  
"Hurrah." "Here, here!" "Long Live the King!" Were the phrases that greeted Inhokomen's declaration.  
  
The young monarch turned to his right, facing Halmu and Kenan. "To Kenan, may the gods give you long life. To Halmu, may you reap all you have sown. May the Stone King soar above all walls and all obstacles and find love and victory against all who stand against him."  
  
Inhokomen's kohl-lined eyes went from Halmu to Gesham. "To the Stone King. Long live the Stone King."  
  
"The Stone King! The Stone King! Long live the Stone King." The crowd chanted loudly without restraint. Ashatsinu stared upwards at the rafters of the great wall to see several of Gesham's clan perched, stoically taking the situation. She watched a steady row of argent fire outline the rafters above her. A low rumbled filled the enormous chamber. The mantra came forth, deep and steady in its cadence. "Golei'th'em Kiari Archta. Geshamu ap Druingrah. Golei'th'em archta."  
  
Inhokomen leaned toward Ashatsinu. "What are they saying?"  
  
"Golei'th'em means leading warrior...the closest translation would be king. The other parts I can't discern."  
  
"Your Highness," A tenor voice whispered in her ear. Ashatsinu saw the older eunuch that she had chided earlier standing beside her. "I learned Draconic when I apprenticed with the warden of Gesham's clan. I believe her name was Arana."  
  
"I owe you an apology." She murmured contritely behind her violet veil. "What is your name?"  
  
"Jubah."  
  
"Jubah," Ashatsinu spoke gently. "What are they chanting? My Draconic isn't quite fluent."   
  
"Leader and Warrior, Sandstorm of the dragon is the Stone High King."  
  
"Sandstorm?" She cocked her head in bewilderment.  
  
"What do you think Gesham means?" Jubah crimson-painted lips smiled at her. "It's short for Geshamu?"  
  
"His name in his tongue is Sandy?" Her brows nearly flew from her face.  
  
"You're smarter than most Humans. Give the Princess a star in the sky."  
  
She glanced at the towering warrior standing behind her. "Are you saying that the Gargoyles-?"  
  
"Are calling Gesham and not Halmu the Stone King?" Jubah finished for her.  
  
"Skylaris was right about you, you are smarter than a camel." He playfully pinched her cheek.  
  
"Jubah?" Ashatsinu gave him a kind look.  
  
"Yes, Highness?"  
  
"Don't say anything like that about me ever again or you'll lose another important body part."  
  
"Point taken and remembered."  
  
"Inhokomen thinks that Gesham is the St-"  
  
"Shh!" Jubah hissed. "Your monster-of-a-husband-to-be sits only three seats away from you."  
  
"Of course, Inhokomen knows! It is a prophecy held dear by Simianites and DeMahri and feared by the Soulless. All Simianites will be free of bondage from their Human masters. Trust me, Inhokomen is one of the most powerful: he is wholly Simianite and not a drop of Adam's blood flows through him." Jubah smiled. "Just like me."  
  
"You're not Human?"  
  
"I never have been. Nor am I a eunuch, Your Highness." He gave a wink. "My kind can just tuck it in very well...that pouch we have comes in handy."  
  
Ashatsinu opened her mouth with a tart reply and found herself speechless. "I don't even want to know, Jubah. That is simply too much information for me to know."  
  
"SSShhhhh!" A loud shush escaped Inhokomen. "Still your prattling tongues. Now is not the time for this chat!"  
  
The boy king again raised his bejeweled golden chalice. "To the Stone King's health and longevity. May he rule long and well."  
  
Gesham's eyes exploded with silver brilliance as his wings flared with incredulity. Halmu smiled gleefully as he nodded magnanimously to the Akkadian's toast. "Thank you, Inhokomen. Your words will bring you great reward, I promise."  
  
Halmu ran a hand deftly through his crimson, henna-hued hair. The crowd was hungry for more thrills and entertainment. He knew that his time had come. "Then, let us tarry no longer. Announce the betrothal, Kenan."  
  
"As you wish." Kenan nodded silently to Niza and she helped him to his feet. Kenan turned to his Gargoyle guardians close by and gave them a silent signal. On cue, Gesham rang a brass gong that resounded loudly throughout the expansive dining hall. The festive celebrants became suddenly silent and immediately turned their attention to the monarch standing before them.   
  
"Nobles, kinsmen, and honored guests." Kenan loudly cleared his throat. "I thank you all for coming this night. Ashatsinu and Halmu, take your place before my throne."  
  
Both stepped away from the table and took their places in front of the aging chieftain. He spoke with conviction and strength that not heard by any from him for many years. "Now, kneel."  
  
The couple did as he bade them. Gesham cast a confused glance to Mardok and he shrugged helplessly; he was as baffled as his leader. They returned their attention to Kenan and watched the old man raise his hands and place them upon Ashatsinu and Halmu's heads. "As Enki so declared it, a man shall leave his home and cleave to a woman, and together they shall be as one. Halmu has paid the bride-price by building the city walls and this grand palace."  
  
The crowd applauded and yelled in jubilation.  
  
"Your Majesty? The wedding is not for another week!" The Princess squeaked. [What in Sheol is my father doing!?]  
  
"Silence, Ashatsinu." Halmu purred with a deadly smoothness. He leaned over so that his flaming henna-dyed beard brushed the silk of her face veil. "It is unnecessary that we wait so long for us to be one. You are Sodom's queen and I have waited twenty-one years too long for this moment."  
  
"But, My Lord-" She squeaked.  
  
"Shh." He pressed two fingers against her lips to silence her. "Do not displease me, Princess. To do so will incur great wrath upon you ...and your beloved father. I shall have what is rightfully mine and your people shall know my benevolence and protection. Do not defy me."  
  
A heavy sigh escaped her. Scalding tears welled in dark eyes as the bleakness of her reality fell upon her as though she were being buried alive. "Where is my servant, Gesham? I wish him to be at my side."  
  
"You try my patience." His brows furrowed together in growing annoyance. "Why must you have that beast with you wherever you go?"  
  
"My Liege, I have asked for nothing nor will I ask for more. " [By All-Father's beard, he means to marry me TONIGHT! It is too soon! This wasn't supposed to happen until after we arrived in Sodom. Why is he doing this now?] "But, he has been my servant since childhood. Won't you let me have this one little favor?"  
  
"And in return?"  
  
"All that you want, My Liege, shall be yours. You will have me as a very, very dutiful and attentive wife." She brushed one finger seductive along her veil-covered lips. "I will make the gods cry out your name in envy because they are denied the pleasure that awaits you."  
  
"And what do you promise me?"  
  
You will taste kisses sweeter than nectar and other delights more rapturous than opium." She let a puff of hot breath tease his ear. "No man shall ever have what I offer you, Halmu."  
  
"All that? It's mine already."  
  
His incredible arrogance robbed Ashatsinu of her voice. Threats stirred his blood, especially when she lacked force to back them. No help came to her aid in this time of need -Ashatsinu knew that she stood alone and she cursed the seven heavens of All-Father because of it. She had no power as a warrior, but she retained the sovereignty of wiles and beguilement. She silently entreated the Powers-That-Be that he was all kinds of fool for his craven tendencies.  
  
"My Lord," She cooed as Arana had taught her. [Remember... .delicious whisper.] "It is both an honor and a privilege to be your wife, but please allow me to have Gesham be near me. He has been my devoted tutor since I was a child. I want to share in this moment with me."  
  
Halmu cocked a cynical brow. "And do you also wish him in our bedchamber when you and I become man and wife?"  
  
"Someone needs to witness that I come to the marriage bed pure." The hint of scorn flavored her words enough that Halmu's brows rose in surprise at her barbed remark.  
  
"Do you defy me?" He swiftly grabbed a thick handful of hair and gave it a painful wrench. "If so, you are as brainless as you are beautiful."  
  
"No, My Lord." She gritted her teeth and gave her best purr. "But, if it would please you Milord, I'd bring Gesham into the bedchamber just to indulge your ... particular pleasures."  
  
"You intrigue me, Ashatsinu." He snorted. He stroked her veiled cheek. "I admire your ability to barter when you own nothing. Therefore, I will reward you and indulge your childish whim. Nevertheless, make no mistake as who is lord and king. Displease me and you answer for the consequences."  
  
"Of course, My Lord." Her eyes fell to the floor, signaling her compliance.  
  
"Gesham, to your Mistress' side." Halmu motioned the warrior to join them. "She wishes you to share in her joy as she marries me."  
  
Tawny wings flared in incredulity and eyes smoldered with silver fire. Talons clenched deeply into tan skin and two cardinal drops of blood fell upon the marble floor as Gesham suppressed the urge to rip Halmu's head from his shoulders. He looked at Ashatsinu and felt the Hands of Fate slowly rip layers of his heart away, revealing the heartache and vibrant devotion he felt for the woman soon to be Halmu's consort. "As you wish, Your Majesty."  
  
"Stone King, I give to you my youngest daughter, Ashatsinu. Provide for her and protect her as you have this city and love her. She is yours now."  
  
"I shall." Came Halmu's vehement reply.  
  
Kenan placed his hands upon his daughter's shoulders. The Princess thought she saw a tear in the old man's eye. "Ashatsinu, you are his mate now -be compliant and dutiful and he shall love you for your virtues."  
  
"I ...will, Father." She practically choked on the words. She looked at the winged warrior standing beside her. [Forgive me, Gesham. I cannot do this alone; I need you at my side.]  
  
[I shall never leave you.] Sorrow filled him as watched the rest of the ceremony and saw his Beloved wedded to Halmu, King of Sodom.  
  
The rite sported neither pageantry nor splendor. As quickly as it had begun, so had it ended. Silence filled the room, and Ashatsinu never felt more alone. Halmu unceremoniously unpinned her veil and planted his lips upon her in an obligatory kiss. "You are my wife now, Ashatsinu."  
  
Borak stepped forth from the shadows with a box carved from the finest jade from the Kingdom of Chin. He waddled toward the newly wedded couple and cleared his throat. He opened the lid of the box and upon deep forest velvet laid two circlets. Silently, he drew the first and bowed to Halmu. On cue, Halmu bent his head and Borak placed the larger platinum circlet upon the titian waves crowing his brother's brow. He turned his gaze upon Ashatsinu.  
  
"Kneel, Amorite." The neutrality in his voice lacked the acrid venom of his brother's scathing tone. She looked into Borak's deep brown eyes and held his gaze for several seconds. Ashatsinu did as her brother-in-law bid her and knelt before him: the Grand Vizier of Sodom. "Ashatsinu, Princess of Amor are you no longer. At this moment and for always, do you declare your loyalty to the tribe of Azazel?"  
  
"I do." Her nails bit deeply into her palms as the words came forced from her lips.  
  
"Do you submit and swear an oath to be first wife of Halmu, your sovereign ruler and master for the rest of your days?" Borak's piercing drone brought on a dreadful headache to Halmu's wife. How she wished him silent at that moment.  
  
"As All-Father and the Great Lady permit, so be it." A drop of crimson trickled down her tanned palm. She heard Gesham's tail strike the cool marble behind her and a flash of his crimson psionic rage filled her mind, but her gaze remained locked upon the marble dais floor. [There has to be a way to take this chalice from me! All-Father and Great Lady Skylaris, hear my plea.]  
  
"Will you rule wisely and well all of your days as sovereign and Queen over Sodom and all its dominion in the realm, championing the causes of righteousness and good for the gods, King and your homeland."  
  
"Yes." Ashatsinu replied without hesitation. [That promise, at least, I can keep.]  
  
"By the Grace of Tiamat and All-Father, rise and take your rightful place as Queen."  
  
Halmu took Ashatsinu's bloody palm in his and brought her to her feet. Her father stepped forward, bowing to Halmu. He embraced his daughter, planting a fleeting kiss upon her cheek. Then, he took their hands and held them in his. "People of Amor, May I present to you the King and Queen of Sodom."  
  
A jubilant roar erupted from the spectators and filled the room with such stridency that barely drowned out the sound of a Gargoyle's bellow and a Princess' sob. Halmu lifted his consort's hand above her head and lead her to the front of the dais where sat the feasting table. "Now, my wife, dance for us!"  
  
"What?" Her dark eyes widened in confusion.   
  
"Entertain us, Ashatsinu." He exclaimed merrily. "Show all the others for what I am alone am worthy. Dance the Amorite Wedding Dance as is the tradition of your tribe." He rose to his feet with goblet held high. "This is my gift to you, City of Amor."  
  
A boisterous roar came from the men in the crowd. Ashatsinu's felt a bolt of disbelief streak through her body at his reprehensible words. [How can he shame me this way? How can he do this to me? How much more must I give to satisfy his vicious tendencies? Is he utterly without any compassion at all!?]  
  
Her dark gaze locked with a frigid smirk of ice blue. Her husband asked that she lay bare her soul and expose her body before the voyeuristic heathens in the dining hall. Yet, she saw the frightened faces of serving maids and common laborers filling her mind. Ashatsinu knew that Halmu's wrath upon her people would be expeditious and pitiless if she failed to comply. Shame filled her, she was nothing more than his trophy being paraded and exhibited like a wild animal.  
  
His cold stare into her eyes dared her to defy his decree.   
  
Ashatsinu closed her eyes tightly to block the vile occurrences transpiring around and to her. Her shoulders sagged with the heavy burden of defeat when the realization came upon her; Halmu knew her better than she comprehended. Boldness and dignity were badges she wore proudly; he meant to strip her body of its garments and slash away the final remnants of rebelliousness from her soul. She searched the eyes of loved ones and family for aid or answers to her dilemma. Arana's eyes gleamed with unholy white fire but remained fixed upon the floor. Kenan's eyes were stern, lacking either indignation or ignominy. Only Gesham's unwavering stare returned her gaze and never left her; though his eyes appeared suspiciously bright and gleaming. Utter desolation filled the Princess as the stoic, motionless warrior allowed one talon to wipe his cheek.  
  
In that one liquid jewel of anguish came the wealth of devotion and inspiration that gave her what she therefore needed for what the circumstances demanded of her. Ashatsinu's heart filled with a love, unfathomable and unrestrained, that a smile came across her lips because of it. She recounted a saying from the stone tomes of Skylaris that Arana zealously guarded. "Give no offer of surrender. Banish any concession of defeat. Be as water, ebb and flow. Be as stone, resolute and enduring. Become as air, swift and bracing. Become as fire, brilliant and ardent."  
  
[For now, I will be water: ebb and flow.]  
  
"As you wish, My King." Her voice filled the small space between them. She turned to the court musicians and clapped her hands loudly. "Play for me."  
  
Ashatsinu heard the heavy beating of the drums mingle with the sharp twangs of the sitar. Rams' horns wielded by winged warriors heralded the beginning of Ashatsinu's sacred and legendary dance. The horns' sounding reverberated, sending haunting howls into the air above the crowd. The tribal descanting and chants uttered by the canters and the rich tones of several flutes mixed in a surrealistic mesh of movement and euphony. The swing beat supported the delicate plucking of lyres and the sweet chiming of symbols urged her body to sway and undulate before the crowd.   
  
Her arms moved in an intricate pattern. Letting her fingers grasp the silken rich, violet folds of her many veils, Ashatsinu let her pelvis sway back and forth to the tempo and growing swell of the music, seductively gliding across the marble floor as she circled to the center of the gathering. The swarm parted for her and let her move to the center of the floor. Her head slowly buoyed from sided to side to the cadence of the mesmerizing music, allowing her long fluttering veils to flow freely. Triangular, the veils fluttered akin to butterfly's wings and the scooped hem resembled the distinct silhouette of a Gargoyle.  
  
The essence of perfumed oils lifted from Ashatsinu's smooth tawny skin and drifted upon the warm desert breeze, filling the nostrils of old men with memories of loves long past and young men with the hopes of great love to come. Her gestures and motions, passed from mother to daughter, told epic stories of exquisite virgins and virile desert warriors discovering the timeless pleasures of ardor and passion. As the tempo increased, the Princess became a damson flurry, silken veils billowing behind her to reveal curve and form to all who saw her. She inhaled deeply, losing her awareness within the strains of the sitar and the ringing of cymbals. With grace and inspiration, Ashatsinu arched her back to the growing crescendo of the euphony of melody and mania. Clapping her hands to the syncopated blend of strings and percussion, she slithered into Halmu's lap.  
  
Ashatsinu leaned forward so that her bosom brushed against the stalwart wall of Halmu's chest. Sitting astride his lap, she playfully leaned forward and let her full berry-stained lips graze a teasing path along the planes of his cheek. She heard a harsh catch of breath escape him and that brought a smile to her face, because Ashatsinu understood the sovereignty of a woman's dominion over a man. She coyly withdrew and stared into pools of frosty sapphire eyes and thought she saw a flame of life flicker within their icy depths. Halmu's finger trailed a tender path along her jaw, bringing her Ashatsinu with a hair's breadth of a stolen kiss.   
  
Callused fingertips caressed her soft skin and he inhaled deeply of the rich orchid scent that filled his senses. "Bring me to life, Ashatsinu." He whispered. "Show me how to love."  
  
"Only your heart will teach you that." She whispered softly in Halmu's ear.  
  
"Then, inspire me to learn, My Queen." He ripped a final veil away revealing her face. "Now, dance for the one that you love and will never hold."  
  
[Could he know? How could he know?] Panic filled her mind as a knowing gleam twinkled in her husband's eyes. "My Liege, no man in this city love me save father. To dance for him in such a fashion is heinous!"  
  
"No, Ashatsinu, I speak not of your father." A slow grin crossed his wickedly handsome lips. "Dance for the beast that stands behind me. Show him what is mine."  
  
"My Liege?"  
  
"If you wish to please and not defy me, then dance for the Gargoyle warrior." His twinkling eyes contrasted sharply with the malevolent tenor of his smooth voice.  
  
[May you burn in the Abyss, you son-of-a-dog.] Ashatsinu forced a smile across her scarlet-painted lips. She said nothing as she flitted away from him as though she was a dervish soaring away on a desert sirocco. Spiraling deftly around his throne, Ashatsinu moved behind him and did as he commanded her. Silk brushed against breastplates worn by many of the guards. No temple cleric remained safe from her exhilarating touch, as she became Halmu's most priceless showpiece. One by one, each outer veil fell from her body until she remained scantily clad in a sheer layer of violet silk. Ashatsinu's svelte form slid past Gesham and a rush of heat imploded within her when her skin caressed his.  
  
"Re'Hahl." His deep murmur filled her ears. She knew the Draconic word well; it meant "Beloved."  
  
"Every condemned male -be it Man or Gargoyle-should have a taste of paradise before he dies." Halmu's voice slashed through the sacred moment occurring between Gesham and his Truest Heart. "I think that Gesham's remains will make a wonderful addition to my rock garden in my newest courtyard." Halmu leaned back leisurely in his throne and observed the quiet exchanged between the Gargoyle and his Queen. The dark-haired beauty became a whirling dervish as she returned before her husband and brazenly straddled his lap.   
  
[I have had enough of your cruelty and evil to last ten lifetimes, Halmu.] His sadism knew no bounds. Ashatsinu knew that no man dared raise a hand against the region's most powerful oppressor. What few free tribes remained became Utakku's easy prey without Halmu's protection. Kenan had prostituted her to curry Halmu's favor. Now, the fiend dared to threaten the one she loved. [I have had enough of this camel-dung. If all stand by and do nothing, then I, alone, shall do everything.]  
  
Her bosom gently brushed against his face so that he saw nothing but the honey-hued crevice of her well-dressed cleavage. Ashatsinu ran her hand down the contour of her harem pants feeling carefully for the sleek outline that meant justice and conclusion to the monstrous interval forced upon her and her people. She raised one arched brow in Gesham's direction, causing the great clan lead to cock his head to the side, signaling his confusion. Her tapered fingers delved between the slit seams on the sides of her garments, wrapping around each hilt of the two. With intuitive precision, Ashatsinu withdrew the deadly sais from the velvet folds and raised high above Halmu.  
  
Ashatsinu arched her back and gracefully writhed away from the enticed monarch. With sais in hand, she made the two blunted blades weave an intricate pattern between her body and Sodom's king. The polished metal caught the golden flames burning brightly from the braziers that illuminated the dais as they did a dance of love, loss, war and hatred. A smile crossed her lips as she allowed the tip of one blade to dance lightly along Halmu's jaw. She inhaled as the music drove her to frenzy -it would be too easy to simply let the blades slice into his pampered skin. One flick of her wrist holding such lethal weaponry meant that his life became forfeit when deemed it suitable.  
  
[Ashatsinu!] An inhuman voice bellowed within her head stridently and without gentleness. The force of its rebuke cause her to take pause and stare perplexedly at it source. Gesham's stoic features became tense with foreboding, his amber eyes blazed with silver and mandarin radiance. [Re'Hahl, let the gods determine his doom. I beg you, do not become like your master -you are an adherent of the Gargoyle Way.]  
  
[No one will do anything, Gesham!] Ashatsinu managed enough focus to answer Gesham's psionic entreaty. [This lunatic damns my people with his quest for power. Someone has to stop him.]  
  
[Ashatsinu, I love you. Do not become what he inspires; murder.]  
  
[By the Dragon, what have I done?] Ashatsinu wrenched her mind free of the psychic reverie that held her mesmerized. The says fell away from her consort's throat and returned to the their leather sheathes concealed beneath the voluminous billows of lavender silk. The music abruptly stopped and she turned, seeing her husband rising to meet her.  
  
He stared at her; a glazed look of surprise came across his eyes. He feebly attempted to reach for his Queen, but strength failed him as his life-force swiftly spilled from suddenly appearing wounds. Halmu tried to speak, sanguine essence gargled from his throat and bubbled forth from his lips. A torrid scream filled the dining hall as her husband's head lulled and fell backward. Ashatsinu realized in the nebulous haze of bewilderment that the scream came from her throat. She looked down at her hands and found them covered with the warmth of his passing life. In a panic, she scuttled back from the body until she felt her back against his empty throne.   
  
"Oh, Ashatsinu." Arana whispered sadly. "What have you done?"  
  
"Nothing!" She shrieked hysterically. "Arana, I swear, this is not by my hand."  
  
Her former husband's bodyguards drew their swords and ominously advanced in her directions.  
  
Niza pointed a finger at her sister, sporting an expression halfway between a smirk and a snarl. "Father, Ashatsinu has murdered her husband!"  
  
Two broad-chested guards roughly hauled Ashatsinu to her feet and held her upright. Her father walked to her and his cold, dark eyes stared into her very essence. "You are no longer my daughter nor of my house."  
  
"Father, I didn't kill him." Tears marred the black kohl lining Ashatsinu's eyes until there were two thick black streaks smeared on her cheeks. "You must believe me."  
  
"Take her out of my sight." Kenan spat. "She is dead to me. Keep her in the dungeons until her execution." 


	5. The Stone King V

Disclaimer: Gargoyles are property of Buena Vista/ Disney. They do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, so please do not sue. However, all original characters are property of Denigoddess2001.  
  
Please send all flames, praise, commentary and questions to Denigoddess2001yahoo.com  
  
Author: Denigoddess2001  
  
Addy: Denigoddess2001yahoo.com  
  
Fandom: Gargoyles  
  
Saga: Reflective Realms Continuum  
  
Episode: The Stone King  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Date:  
  
Author's notes: Anything appearing in brackets [ ] indicates character's thoughts or telepathic communication.   
  
The night following the wedding feast.....  
  
Ashatsinu felt nagging hunger gnawing at her stomach and an angry growl answered it. Fire and dryness made her throat raw and swollen from not having water for two nights; thirst was another monster the Princess battled to keep at bay. The moisture and darkness of her small, cramped prison cell was a tomb threatening her mind with invisible beasts lurking in the shadow. Ashatsinu kept reminding herself that those beasts were just rats and spiders, yet nothing banished the terrified thoughts filling her mind. Alone, enchained, cold and wet, Ashatsinu cursed the nine hells that brought her to her father's dungeon. Ironically, the structure was only four seasons old, but it was an ancient entity delighting in tormenting her. She cursed Halmu's name a thousand times, but it brought her little solace.  
  
Visions haunted her of her impending, fated execution. Ashatsinu knew well the barbaric, bloody destiny awaiting her. Her father's private guards would come for her, removing her from the tiny, dank cell and leading her through Amor's granite-cobbled streets. Images of the final walk filled her jumbled thoughts as she envisioned the rock quarry where death anticipated her arrival. She remembered well the large white granite obelisk used for putting to death those who defiled Amor's laws. She remembered the deep crimson stains soaked deep into the stones, the blood of those condemned before her. She knew that chains awaited for her in their final embrace. She silently prayed that death would come quickly and painlessly. Ashatsinu prayed that the first stone cast strike her temple so that unconsciousness claimed her final thoughts.   
  
"Fate is a fickle mistress, Queen Ashatsinu." A resonant voice lilted quietly from the darkness surrounding her. "You neither give nor receive quarter to allies or enemies. No god or man commands you. Destiny remains confused by your incomparable fortitude and Fate avoids doing battle with you.""  
  
"Fate always claims victory in the end, Stranger." Ashatsinu threw a pebble across the cool stone floor, watching it bounce along the crevices of the mortar and the cobblestones. "Halmu's death came not by my hand, I assure you. "   
  
"A myriad of questions torment you without promise of resolution." The answer from the shadows echoed rapidly off the stone prison walls.  
  
"Who are you, taunting me in my final hours before death?" Ashatsinu sneered at the spectral voice cloaked by night and dimness. She said with far more bravado than she possessed  
  
"Show yourself, be you my conscience or assassin. Let me see the face of death before I die."  
  
"Nay, Queen, I think not. Suchlike gods bless you, therefore I embody your deliverance." Ashatsinu listened attentively to the serene timbre of the speaker's words. The surreal voice emanated a magnificent reverberation, a melodious pitch lulling her disconcerted thoughts into reverie and repose. "I choose anonymity for the moment. Much weighs upon your mind and I refuse to bring further burdens to your troubled heart."  
  
"I thank you for that small kindness." Ashatsinu picked up another stone and made repetitious marks upon the floor of her cell. "Nonetheless, your appearance will not inspire hysterics."  
  
"In the visage of hardship, you remain composed; truly the mark of a strong ruler. Discovery of my presence here jeopardizes my life. I risk much visiting you, nevertheless I deem it a advantageous choice." The mysterious voice gently responded. "Many call me mad but never obtuse."  
  
"You speech bears the mark of an educated man. Are you one of All-Father's prophets?" Ashatsinu turned her head toward the darkness, straining her eyes to find the contour of his silhouette. "I can barely make out your form in the darkness, but you appear robed."  
  
"Your senses are keen and your sight sharp." The cheerful mood of the stranger's voice lifted some of the gloom stalking her in her thoughts. "Impressive, for a Human."  
  
"You never answered my question." Ashatsinu redirected the focus of their conversation on her interrogation of the faceless stranger. "Are you one of All-Father's clerics? Only they wear robes with hoods that hide their faces."  
  
"No. I tell you this, Queen; I know firsthand the wrath of All-Father. He deserves no such title because he is not the Father of All but a chosen few humans hiding in the shadows like frightened rats. My tribe merely calls him Enki." The voice's bitterness wiped away any lingering traces of cheer that it had formerly held."  
  
"You sound resentful of his blessings."  
  
"I suffer from the worst of curses." The voice was curt, cutting through the darkness with the swiftness of a sharp scimitar. "He cast me out long before your birth."  
  
"Then you and I share a similar fate, Stranger." Ashatsinu raised her wrists toward the shadowed form, displaying the heavy shackles that chained her to the wall. "My father denies my life by keeping me in this place. My execution takes place shortly before sunrise. Tell me, what crime landed you in this hellhole?"  
  
"Defiant truth, Queen."  
  
"What was your crime?"  
  
"Blasphemy. I am no prisoner here; no walls hold me. I move through them as mist though stone."  
  
"You speak in riddles, Stranger." Ashatsinu threw a pebble in his direction. She heard it dance and skitter along the stone floor. "Are you a scribe of the court?"  
  
"You ask too many questions and that is a sign of defiance."  
  
"You are a talking conundrum." Ashatsinu retorted sharply, struggling to her feet. Fatigue overwhelmed her and she slumped against the damp stone. A growl of sheer frustration echoed off the damp walls of the dungeon cell. "Wise men are silent while fools prattle. Show yourself or leave me in peace."  
  
The raw agony from talking caused a raspy, guttural coughing in her desiccated throat. Two hands, pale and slender, appeared from the darkness holding forth a wineskin. They held the skin's mouthpiece to her dry lips. Ashatsinu clutched the wineskin and drank eagerly. A warm, thick fluid filled her mouth; its salty, metallic taste brought bile to her throat with each swallow. She tried throwing the wineskin aside but those slender hands held it fast to her lips. His voice carried a commanding authority that compelled her meek compliance. "Drink now and argue later, Queen. For once, simply accept a gift and put your rebelliousness aside."  
  
The undeniable domination in his voice overrode her desire to wretch. Ashatsinu silently screamed, as her body betrayed her will and forced her parched throat to obey, gulping down the repulsive liquid. She found strength after that first swing, disgusted with her weakness, thrust the bag away. With each sanguine drop descending from her lips to her throat, a thousand comprehensions filled her being. The one holding the wineskin defied life. This stranger defiled the sacred natural order of all living things by his existence. "That was blood."  
  
"Clever girl, you learn quickly. From my veins it flows upon your full lips, tainting the color of an Akkadian nightfall." The figure knelt beside her and corked the wineskin. "Let us leave this place."  
  
"I will walk in the Shadowlands before I leave with you." Ashatsinu's wry chuckle accompanied the metallic clinks of her shackled wrists. "Circumstance decides that I remain here. Besides, a death shroud clashes with my complexion."  
  
"Arana's tutelage has failed in teaching you to hold your tongue."  
  
"Humor is the ultimate act of defiance." Ashatsinu barked, considerably astonished by the fact her thirst and fatigue were nearly gone. She rose to her feet and yanked at the chains securely embedded within the stone walls. In an act of childish unruliness, she kicked the granite wall. Defeated and decimated, she slumped into a sitting position on the damp stone floor. "You have me at a disadvantage and my patience grows short. If you can release me from these manacles, we can leave. By the Dragon's tail, I have to ask and I think I already know. Who are you?"  
  
"I will tell you when it is time." The voice silenced any further questions. "Queen Ashatsinu, you have few options available to you." The cloaked man stepped into her sight, faintly illuminated by the moonlight shining though the tiny window above them. She glanced upward and saw that he, whoever he was, towered over her because she barely came to his chest.  
  
"Your gift for exaggerating the obvious amuses me." Her cutting remark elicited another chuckle from him.   
  
"You possess mother's biting sarcasm. I always adored that about her." He pressed two tapered fingers to her lips. "Yet, I find it infuriating when it falls from you're your mordant mouth. Be silent."  
  
"Try again, Stranger. Who are you?" Ashatsinu dared inquire once more.  
  
Two pale, slender hands emerged from the long draping sleeves of his forest cloak. They came to the cobalt trim adorning the cowl concealing his face. Pushing the hood back, he revealed a finely chiseled jaw, sharp cheekbones and a pale complexion. His black goatee framed full lips and accented his aquiline nose. Thick, dark brows accented eyes the shade of clear ice, giving him a nether worldly mien. Indigo tattooed markings adorning his brow and left temple showed him as a member of her father's tribe. One gold hoop hung from his left ear and the metal glinted in the cold moonlight when he turned his head, smiling at her.  
  
The smile lit the small cell in an eerie luminescence, prompting Ashatsinu's utter stillness. Ashatsinu saw a thick, glorious mane of raven hair falling to his shoulders. She remembered renditions of a similar in ancient scrolls written by All-Father's clerics. She recalled their lessons well. She thought him haunting handsome and yet there was a baleful demeanor that inspired a primal terror within her wilding beating heart. Only one tribe possessed such striking, exotic features and she knew that those primordial kinsmen were no longer human. "Utakku."  
  
"You know me."  
  
"I know about you." She spoke slowly, seeking calm within her self and finding nothing but disbelief. The darkest of her father's adversaries stood before her in all of his cadaverous glory. "Mother used to tell me stories about your kind and those same stories ensured my good behavior throughout my childhood. Your kind and mine are natural enemies."  
  
"Let us be forthright, Ashatsinu. Your father holds lands belonging to my heirs and descendants. He slaughters my people on sight and wishes my eradication from the face of the earth."  
  
"Is this how my father's desires my death?" Ashatsinu felt tears stinging her eyes. "He delivers me into the hands of the enemy?"  
  
"I am not your enemy, Queen." Utakku spoke with a tenderness that defied his menacing presence. He placed his slender fingers upon the iron shackles, the cold iron with the intimacy of a lover's caress. With a loud click, their locking mechanisms released and empty shackles clattered noisily when they hit the stone floor. "At least, tonight I am not your adversary."  
  
"You're Soulless." She replied grimly. "I may die, but I do not want to die at your hands, Utakku. I'd rather be pummeled by stones until my flesh falls from my bones."  
  
"I thought you were more of an optimist."  
  
"I see you find my situation hilarious, Vampire."  
  
"DO NOT CALL ME THAT AGAIN." His bellow accompanied eyes burning with an unholy fire. Ashatsinu saw his lips pull back in a feral snarl, revealing pearly fangs. His Inhumanity brought forth a primal fear that inspired a shrill scream that reverberated so strongly that the scuttling of the rats ceased.  
  
The ice blue fires burning in Utakku's eyes dimmed, revealing a clear gaze. "The DeMahri call my kind Ahl-Kemehn. Say it with me."  
  
"All KAW Maine." Ashatsinu found her tongue betraying her with its stuttering. "Clan of the dark dragon,' better known as Tiamat's children."  
  
"Very good. You speak Draconic well." Utakku nodded in grudging admiration. "You are as intelligent as you are comely; an exceptional amalgamation in a woman."  
  
"Charming and deadly: a lethal mix for most of your victims, I am certain. Why are you here, Utakku?" Ashatsinu's pithy derision sounded abrasive to her and elicited an amused smirk from her kinsman. "What do you want of me?"  
  
"I want armistice between the Ahl-Kemehn and the Amorites. Kenan chose war and Halmu chose defiance, thus death. You are now Sodom's rightful queen and Kenan swears fealty to the Tribe of Azazel. Common knowledge decrees Halmu is without and an heir leaving you as the sovereign of the richest city in the realm. I know you hold good sense and sound judgment. Listen to my proposal and then decide."  
  
"Then speak your mind, Utakku."  
  
"Amor is my by finesse or by force. Now, I advocate an arrangement beneficial for all: save your people and vow allegiance to me. As Amor's princess and Sodom's queen, you wield influence and power over countless people. Thus, persuade them a peaceful surrender insures prosperity and survival for your people and a bountiful existence for mine."  
  
"What do I have to do, marry you?" She cringed at the thought of forced marriage to a vampire.  
  
"No. Simply pay tribute to me, ally yourself to me in front of your people, and both cities shall become protectorates under my... administration." He explained. "In return, you exert undisputed authority over Sodom and Amor."  
  
"So that you can make them into slaves or bleed them dry?" How Ashatsinu wished at that moment that her eyes glowed crimson and that cobalt flowed through her veins instead of red. A DeMahri knew immunity to a vampire's bite and never knew a Soulless existence. [Menash Kah! From the boiling cauldron into the fire pit, this cannot be happening to me!]  
  
"The world is harsh and we do, as we must, to survive." Utakku's lips pursed together in a grim, stoic line. "This war between Amor and my people claims too lives on both sides."  
  
"Did you kill Halmu?" Ashatsinu inquired frankly. She brushed back a stray black tendril from her dirt-covered cheek. "How did he die?"  
  
"Very quickly, My Dear." Utakku met her gaze. "He fulfilled his purpose and I no longer needed his services. A wise woman brought him a quick end at my urging."  
  
"Niza!" Her sister's name came out in hiss.  
  
"Yes, she is a cunning, but valuable, ally." One long, slender finger languidly stroked her cheek. "Your mother loves you and wants your birthright restored to you. I do this for my people's betterment and because your mother desires it."  
  
"My mother died of a plague sent by All-Father for defying my father, Uttaku."  
  
"Did she, Queen?" His condescending tone brought Ashatsinu's irritation to a point approaching explosion. Utakku gestured with a flattened palm toward, silently seeking her patience. Utakku's eyes warmed and warmth entered his voice. "Niza summoned me shortly before her supposed death and begged for your mother's life. I bestowed upon Tizir Tiamat's deathless legacy."   
  
"You turned my mother into a soulless sycophant." Ashatsinu snarled. "If you loved her, then how could you?"  
  
"I adore her, Ashatsinu." Utakku spoke gently. "We are not Soulless creatures you regard us. We are outside of Fate's Design and Time's reach; we are creatures of intelligent design. We know life without injury, infirmity or death. Nevertheless, we are vulnerable because we have hearts and we feel love."  
  
"Love!?" She shrieked. "By the Dragon, Utakku, you murdered her! Then, you condemned her to an eternity of blood and death."  
  
"Tizir dances beneath her goddess' moon. She knows her goddess' love and good blessing. Your mother holds you and the DeMahri in high esteem. Upon her council, I consider the DeMahri as neutral and protect her youngest daughter in exchange for life with me."  
  
"So, now she worships Tiamat." Ashatsinu's obsidian eyes brimmed with unshed tears.  
  
"No, she is a devout follower of the other dragon." Utakku cast his frigid blue gaze skywards. "Your mother intrigues me with her anecdotes of the Dragon goddess, Skylaris. She claims that the goddess is a fair and just deity with compassion unmatched. At your mother's bidding, I come to you this night and consider your goddess with grave solemnity."  
  
"Skylaris?" Ashatsinu's voice came out barely more that a squeak.  
  
"Indeed. We are not the evil, bloodsucking monsters you think us, Ashatsinu. Your mother thinks that there is room beneath Skylaris' protective wings for creatures of the night besides the DeMahri."  
  
"Really?" Ashatsinu thought herself mad for listening to the rantings of a monster.  
  
"Let me tell you a story, Ashatsinu. All-Father cursed me because I defied him. My brother brought him the finest kills of the hunt whilst I brought the finest crops springing from hard labor and tender care. He made me this way and now I am eternally destined to remain as such until the Final Judgment. Worse yet, my children and their descendants are doomed to accommodate Enki's whims until time ends."  
  
"Please pardon me if I have no sympathy." Ashatsinu sniffed.  
  
"It was that ageless legacy that saved your mother's life when Enki decided her life belonged to him. Niza took Halmu's life with one of her potions in his drink so that death missed you on your wedding night. He and I had an agreement: he married you and gave me Amor, and I gave him continual life free of injury, infirmity, death and disease. Your All-Father's curse is a gift to some. Tiamat's patronage makes my people strong."  
  
"You have killed my people for centuries!"  
  
"You people have killed us simply because your deity demands it. Has he given you any good reason for doing so?" Uttaku's eyes burnt with a gleam indigo flame. "We take only those that war against us. No innocent becomes a slave in my city. We do not kill or deliver children to the Legacy for the Legacy forbids it. We only invite those we deem worthy to join us in immortality."  
  
"Tiamat demands blood sacrifice!" Ashatsinu choked on the heavy, sweet haze of myrrh surrounding Utakku. "You offer her the hearts of condemned prisoners so she'll bless you."  
  
"And Enki demands your finest animals to keep him pleased. Those same animals that grace his altar would do better in the stomachs of the poor and the hungry! Your deity demands gems and gold that would do better to feed the starving and clothe the naked. Deny him those sacrifices and he brings plagues and curses upon you." He countered. "Enki and the Dark Dragon are not so different, and Tiamat is more honest in her demands and more forthcoming with her favors."  
  
"She turned you into ...whatever you are." Ashatsinu motioned toward Utakku, at a loss for better describing his unique condition.   
  
"Listen to me, Queen." He roughly grabbed her shoulders. "In simplest terms, I offer a truce. Join me in a treaty of peace and I give you my word this war ends tonight. Peace and order will reign, not bloodsheld. Your numbers are few and my warriors are powerful. Yet, I tire of seeing my people weep for their slain children and murdered mates. Your father follows the demands of a deity that insists that insurgents, be they men women or children, fall upon the sword if they choose not to worship Enki." Utakku's face contorted in disgust. "Women and children must never know bloodshed or death."  
  
"How do I know what you tell me is true?" Ashatsinu pushed her body from his grasp.   
  
"You will have to decide that for yourself."  
  
"Your people have hunted mine like animals."  
  
"And you murdered one of my daughters the night Arana and you fought three of my finest warriors."  
  
"They attacked us!"  
  
"They thought you and Arana to be spies." Utakku slammed his fist into the stone wall, out of sheer frustration.   
  
"Will you not listen to reason?"  
  
"I need proof that what you are telling me is true."  
  
"And how do I provide that, Ashatsinu?"  
  
[He has a point.] Desolation filled her. Blind faith was complete stupidity when dealing with a vampire, no matter how honorable he might seem. [If only Gesham were here. He can figure out when someone is lying. After all, it is a gift from his goddess.]  
  
A glimmer of hoped sparked a flood of inspiration within Ashatsinu. "We need an arbitrator."  
  
"Who?" His brow furrowed in suspicion.  
  
"I no more trust you and your god than you trust me and mine." Ashatinu folded her hands together in contemplation. "We both hold Skylaris in esteem."  
  
"True."  
  
"I offer you this: let us both approach the DeMahri goddess, Skylaris in her sacred grove. Let her will be judgment. She is wise and fair and I...hold some favor with her for some unknown reason."  
  
"She cares little for human affairs." Utakku scoffed. "Why she?"  
  
"She is neutral between Tiamat and Enki. Neither god dares disturb the balance of power of the pantheon for she is also the patron protector of elves, djinn, and the shape shifters. Enki cursed you, your descendants and fellow tribesmen. My people follow him more so from fear than respect. The DeMahri protect my people based upon the oath of Promise made between Kenan and the DeMahri tribe. She demands no blood sacrifice -in fact, she forbids it. She may also be able free your and your people from Enki's curse."  
  
"You speak of things beyond your power and reckoning." Utakku gently stroked a stray tendril away from Ashatisnu's grimy face. "Your idealism is admirable, but gods are a fickle lot, Queen, that you soon will know."  
  
"She has been kinder to me than any other save for Gesham and Arana." Ashatsinu's sharp retort surprised the vampire. She lifted back the long, dark strands of hair to reveal a small golden birthmark, glistening with brilliance of pure gold. "I bear her mark. I offer that secret to you in good faith."  
  
"How do you know that she will not annihilate us on sight? Skylaris forbade humans long ago from entering her sacred grove. My goddess will destroy my city should she catch wind of the treason I commit."  
  
"I don't know that, Utakku, other than I have faith in Skylaris' righteousness and integrity; she knows the truth of all souls before they speak aloud. All falsehoods reveal themselves in her presence. If you will turn away from Tiamat and swear fealty to Skylaris, I will do the same and I will join you in armistice."  
  
"You ask more than the moon and the stars and you do it with courage." He gave her a smile. "You truly are meant to be Queen."  
  
"Then, we have an agreement?"  
  
"I consent to travel with you to the sacred grove." He drew the cowl of his cloak over his face. "If this is trickery, Ashatsinu, remember my wrath is boundless."  
  
"So be it." The young queen answered without hesitation. A long nail appeared on Utakku's left pinkie and the sharp edge sliced the thin skin of his inner wrist. Ashatsinu coughed in indignation. "There is no way in Sheol I am mingling my blood with yours."  
  
"My blood flows though you now." Utakku smirked. "What is another drop?"  
  
"I do it with a handshake."  
  
He growled in frustration. "You are your father's bane."  
  
"Cross me and I will be yours as well." She retorted.  
  
Utakku slowly extended his hand. Ashatsinu looked warily at the tapered fingers and reluctantly clasped it. The shook twice and firmly and replied in unison. "By Skylaris, we seal this pact and may her wrath be upon us if either proves traitor to our agreement."  
  
Utakku paused and studied the svelte human before him. She neither gave quarter nor demanded it. Unlike her sister Niza, Ashatsinu possessed a conscientious character and thoughtful nature. She faced danger and death with as much courage any Ahl-Kemehn. Her defiant conviction and diplomatic expertise brought reason to a futile war. Still, she was Human and not to be trusted too much. Kenan's blood flowed through her veins and the made Utakku wary of this bold sovereign.  
  
"You will have your proof, Queen." He nodded curtly. "Let us leave this place and find Skylaris' grove.  
  
Vainglory and hubris betokened her inmost demons, now she sought their presence for forbearance that eluded her. Ashatsinu's ancestor spuriously defied All-Father with his each word and deed. Now the young Queen dared follow her unhallowed bloodline with their contemplated covenant. She made her face stoic as that of a DeMahri warrior; aligning her shoulders, she stared forthwith into Utakku's gaze.  
  
"The moon is full and waning toward morning. We have little time to arrive at her sacred grove."  
  
"Oh, really?"  
  
"The cantors of the Gargoyle clan say that Skylaris' sacred grove is located on an island beyond the end of the world. It supposedly lies on the edge of the Western Ocean." She mused. "It is said that when worthy warriors know death, their spirits travel to the Summerlands."  
  
"Summerlands?" Utakku looked rather bored at that moment with her religious prattling.  
  
"The everlasting dominion where Gargoyle souls know peace and contentment." She watched Utakku sneer in disdain. "Mock it if you will, but you will never know serenity or paradise."  
  
"You will know it soon enough if you do not silence that chattering tongue." His sinister chuckle chilled Ashatsinu to her core. "Your lovely throat is pulsing, throbbing with life. I crave nothing more than to bury my fangs in your skin and drink my fill until you walk amongst the pale and the dead."  
  
"Not as long as I breathe will you have me." She suppressed the overwhelming hatred simmering beneath her carefully constructed façade. "I forgot that you are a heartless beast."  
  
"Just commit to memory that I am no man, and my heart is dust." Utakku's glare froze her soul with its frigid, unearthly fire. "You are still alive because you serve a purpose and you fulfill a need. Be thankful for Tizir's love of you."  
  
"So be it." Ashatsinu longed for the sais she wielded prior to her imprisonment. At that moment, fury became sublime sweetness at the thought of driving them into his unliving core. She vowed that Utakku would be nothing more than a sandy, ashen feast for the scorpions come sunrise had she a say in the matter.  
  
"Just a reminder time is short, Queen. Save the spiritual platitudes for the worshippers." His scathing reply chided Ashatsinu silent. "Now, how do we arrive there?"   
  
"You're the undead eternal, infernal being here, not me." She let a sly smile slide across her chapped lips. "You find the solution."  
  
"Then, it's time you put your education to use, Queen."   
  
"How do I do that, O Great One?" She sniffed.  
  
Utakku abhorred her contemptuous condescension. He cursed silently for promising Tizir that he would guard this virago and lead her to safety. He sighed heavily in exasperation and reached deep within the billowing folds of his velvet cloak. He withdrew a small scroll: the length of his hand from fingertip to wrist. He held it out to the shrew before him. "Niza said you could make sense of this."  
  
"It's a Cleric's scroll." Her brows furrowed in suspicion. "How did Niza get hold of such a thing?"  
  
"She acquires countless trinkets in her studies and travels." Utakku gave her a dismissive wave. "Can you read it?"  
  
"Give me some time." Ashatsinu's fingers quickly untied the leather strap keeping the scroll tight. Unfurling it, she scanned the inscriptions upon the heavy parchment with intense scrutiny. "Yes, I can read it. It's a Draconic incantation for travel."  
  
"Cast it, for if I were to do so..."  
  
"The natural Magick of the scroll would fry you crisper than a scorpion at high noon." She finished for him. "Utakku, do you have any precious metal or stone on your person?"  
  
"Yes." He unceremoniously removed the single gold hoop adorning his earlobe. He quirked a brow in curiosity. "Why?"  
  
"Watch, Ancestor of mine, and learn the meaning of divine conjuring." She took some of the blood from the wine skin, dipping the earring in its crimson density.  
  
"You practice the arts?" Utakku questioned skeptically. "I thought you above such things."  
  
"I am no cleric, Utakku; my talent is limited in scope and ability. However, it suffices in times of need. We are in DEFINATE need. Please remember that Niza's Magick is of the Abyss, while Arana's Magick comes from the Spiritual realm. Therefore pray to whatever goddess you call Mistress that Niza's Magick has not contaminated the purity of this consecrated scroll." Ashatsinu expectantly held out her hand. "All dragons like gold and that gold hoop will do nicely in getting the Great Lady's attention."  
  
She took a stray shard of stone granite lying on the cold floor, using it and etching several scratches resembling hieroglyphs and archaic symbols. Ashatsinu placed the gold hoop in the center of the elaborate inscriptions and returned to Utakku's side. She motioned to a spot beside her. "You do not want to be very close when this manifests."  
  
"I cast this circle once around  
  
All within by Magick bound  
  
Beyond the Tigris and the Nile  
  
Wend us upon her Blessed Isle.  
  
A sacred haven blessed and divine  
  
Celestial by Intelligent design.  
  
A sacred space, a healing place  
  
Guarded from harm by Skylaris' grace."  
  
The glyphs drawn upon the prison floor enkindled with damson flames, a spectral aura enveloped them. The haunting drone filled the room with the swarming buzz of a thousand dragonfly wings. Ashatsinu returned Utakku's compelling gaze, taken aback by how the violet flames danced in the endless depths of frigid azure eyes. Uncertain, of the effects of such a powerful incantation, Ashatsinu hurriedly took Utakku's cool hand in her warm grasp. "Wrap your cloak around us so that we will not be separated."  
  
"I abhor flying." Utakku muttered through gnashing teeth. "Let it be over speedily."  
  
"You have my deepest sympathy." Ashatsinu retorted hotly as she led him into the center of the circle. The opaque amaranth shimmer surrounding them emitted lavender sparks that caught on the hem of Utakku's ebony velvet cloak. The horror of fire searing his skin inspired a rough, hoarse gasp from the sycophant.  
  
"These flames will not burn you." Ashatsinu whispered. "Have faith in the Lady. No harm will come to you, Utakku."  
  
The violet inferno frolicked as a fiery wall around them. A piercing blast of wind gusted, violently rending away the stone wall with ease. The roar of a sandstorm filled Ashatsinu's ears with the ferocious majesty of the DeMahri goddess. Giant, jagged shards of granite circled them in a vortex of sand and stone, harmlessly bouncing off the wall of protective Magickal purple blaze. Clouds raced over the horizon, overcast and heavy, eclipsing the moonlight. Argent lightning came in one deafening bolt, striking Ashatsinu and Utakku where they stood. One feral masculine howl stopped mid-scream as all around them became black.  
  
Utakku dared open his eyes and found that he stood on a flat plateau under bright moonlight. He heard rushing water behind him and turned to see a rushing waterfall to his left. Above him, the black silhouettes of DeMahri starkly contrasted the blinding golden moon hanging full in the night sky. Lush verdant vegetation surrounded them; the heavy perfumes of exotic flowers fill the air with their aromatic, kaleidoscopic blooms.   
  
"Where are we?" Utakku whispered, thoroughly agape from the vision of paradise surrounding them.  
  
"This is near her sacred grove. Humans are forbidden here and only Simianites and DeMahri walk here." Ashatsinu straightened her dirtied clothing.  
  
Resolution became impenetrable armor shielding Ashatsinu from the increasing fear and bafflement burgeoning within her. Question ran through her mind at with rapid velocity, as she doubted her sanity for sealing a pact with her tribe's sworn enemy. With each passing night, life became additionally bizarre and disquieting. Ashatsinu longed for simple things beyond her lot: well-being and affluence for her tribe, love with her beloved Gargoyle, sanctuary from the humanity's lunacy and quietude from angst and fretfulness. Now, she stood at the beginning of a pearled path that marked the end of life she knew.   
  
Ashatsinu conceded stoically that with that first step she left behind her beloved tribe and deity. All-Father demanded her complete obedience, silence and submission, as she became a pawn between warring nations longing for a victory in a long, thirsty war. What lay at the end of the pearled path transmuted all she knew into the Great Unknown. The Queen berated herself for deficiency of faith and a disconcerted, panicked mindset.  
  
''Is this best for both our peoples?" She spoke aloud, breaking the rushing reverie strident in her thoughts. She turned and looked at Utakku, studying his serene carriage. "Tiamat is a vengeful goddess and Enki is a tyrannical deity. Do we endanger innocent lives whom we love by commencing with this....insanity?"   
  
"A mutual adversary formulates unusual alliances." Utakku enigmatically replied, his face half-hidden by shadow. "You are vexed?"  
  
"That's an underestimation of my current mind." Ashatsinu scoffed.  
  
"Then you must decide to trust me and trust this goddess of whom you speak so graciously." Utakku drew his cloak closer around him. "Time grows short."  
  
"Of course." She stared at the iridescent, translucent footpath stretching out before her. "Arana told me seeing the pearled path is rare for the dead and nearly improbable for the living. However, its best that we adhere to the legends of the Path."  
  
"What are those legends, Queen?" Utakku's smirk made Ashatsinu long for solid smack against his cheek, ridding his classically handsome features of that horrendous sneer.  
  
"We must walk the path pending arrival of her hallowed lake. Nothing may lead us from the path -we must not stray. This place is also sacrosanct and blessed, so, remove your boots."   
  
"My boots?" His indignation inspired a barely concealed chuckle from Ashatsinu.   
  
"Only the steps of a devout adherent walk along the Pearled Path." Ashatsinu fell to her knees and pressed her cheek to the ground. Utakku watched felt certain that the young woman was quite insane. She eyed him disdainfully, then tugged at the hem of his velvet cloak. "Kneel."  
  
"I kneel to no god."  
  
"Put aside that arrogance and pride of yours and do as I bid you." She glared at him.  
  
"You should be one to talk."  
  
"At least I'm barefoot." Ashatsinu stuck her pink tongue out in his direction.   
  
"Lady of Night,  
  
Protector of the DeMahri  
  
I beseech you, I beseech you, and I beseech you.  
  
We have traveled far  
  
and I beg you to appear."  
  
"Ashatsinu, I know you." Came a melodious voice from the darkness. "Follow the path and come to me."  
  
"Thank you, Great Lady." Ashatsinu found no strength to stand at the voice's prompt reply.  
  
"You, Uttaku of Gomorrah, seek legitimacy from me. Will miracles never cease?" The quixotic salutation sailed to them on a balmy breeze laden with the heavy scent of exotic spices, leaving he and Ashatisinu experiencing an exhilarating, euphoric awareness. "You give 'walking death' an entirely innovative significance."  
  
"Thank you, I think." One raven brow quirked in genuine confusion.  
  
"Great Lady, I implore you to hear us." Ashatsinu cried out to the voice in the night. "Please, you found it in your heart to favor me with a blessed mark upon my brow. I have nowhere else to turn."  
  
"Is your faith strong, Utakku of Gomorrah?" Skylaris' husky contralto spoke softly to him.   
  
"Ask of me what you will." He spoke loudly in the darkness.  
  
"Let the sweet waters of life cleanse you." The tender tone brought alive his curiosity. "Come into my lake."  
  
Utakku gathered the fatigued, breathless queen in his arms, tirelessly carrying her down the luminescent stones of the pearled path. Never had he seen such a place alight with the fires of light: each bloom from every flower glimmered with a radiance of hue so pure that it brought sanguine tears to his frigid azure eyes. The gentle sigh of the clement night zephyr beget peace to his troubled mind and the tuneful twittering of birds in the trees sang a song sweeter than ever any he previously heard. The warm, white sands caressed the callused soles of Utakku's bare feet. At last, he stood at the shore of a still lake. Silenced by its beauty, he watched the moonlight refract with argent beams upon the still surface of the water.  
  
"I am the giver and keeper of The Waters of Life." As the voice resounded throughout the night, a rush of water crashed against the pristine white sands of the lake's shore. "I am the Life Incarnate. The air beneath my wings bequeaths the breath of living. The fire from my tongue creates souls without end. My crashing waves bring forth the essence of being and the stone beneath my feet gives fortitude. I am more enduring than the mountains and older than the world, Utakku. I am the Mother of Stone, heed my words well, Ahl-Kemehn."  
  
"And talented at lengthy dialogues." He muttered through gritted grimace.  
  
The clear violet waters rippled, then parted. Utakku took several steps back as a long elegant neck emerged from the waves. Emerald scales twinkled in the moonlight every tint of lush verdant green to the deep forest hues surrounding them. The front of the creature's neck was a brilliant golden crest of feathery scales that appeared akin to feathers rather than scaly hide always attributed to dragons. Sparkling amethyst scales gleamed intermittently amongst the others, but what caught Utakku's attention held him fast. Luminous amethyst eyes framed in dark sooty lashes stared down at the strange duo.  
  
"Bravery becomes you, Utakku, I'll give you that." The goddess leaned forward and sniffed him and the Princess. "Prior to our parley, you are taking a bath. The stench of death surrounds you and I just had dinner."  
  
"What?" He stood slack-jawed at the Dragon's unceremonious candor. It was not the speech he expected from a draconic deity. "A bath?"  
  
"You reek." A long, slender tail slithered out from the lake and lithely wrapped around his waist. His eyes flamed with vampiric fury at the sudden attack. "Oh, lose the wrath-and-rage façade! You are just going for a dip. Just put 'Shatsu down and humor me."  
  
"You are not what I anticipated." He spoke cautiously, smoothly laying Ashatsinu upon the pristine sands.  
  
"I'm for more talented than just giving lengthy speeches." Her lithe, agile tail resoundingly smacked his backside. "Now, you need a good dose of humor. Gothic and macabre are not my ways of doing things."  
  
Utakku let out a surprised yelp of indignation as Skylaris abruptly dunked him several times in the lake. She leaned over, inhaled, and crinkled her nose as if his scent repelled her. If a dragon could make a face of disdain, Skylaris did it well. She breathed upon him and the redolent fragrance of orchids surrounded and permeated his being. She submerged the outraged vampire several more times until he seemingly met her satisfaction. Drenched, and looking more akin to a drowned rat than an unearthly fiend, she nodded her head in approval. "Now, you're clean. Let's dry you off....Hold still."  
  
"What?!" She let loose a column of violet flame that came with rapid speed toward Utakku. A scream filled the night and yet he stood within the flamed unharmed. He recollected Ashatsinu's words of how Skylaris' flames would bring him no harm. He glowered at the colossal serpent as she blew dry his person.  
  
She came forth from the rippling waters, Utakku stared agape at the dragon's vast wingspan. He guessed her length from head to tail measuring nearly a hundred cubits. Unlike the acidic demon his people revered, this incredible entity was the embodiment of splendor and innocence. Brilliant in color and glorious in presence, he fell to his knees. "Rise, Utakku. You have bathed in my sacred pool and stand cleansed of past iniquity. Plus, you smell far better than you did before."  
  
"What of Ashatsinu?" Somehow, he found his voice and spoke.  
  
Skylaris' serpentine head gently nudged the sleeping Queen. "Rise, Little One and be refreshed. You've suffered much and followed your heart to this good end and new beginning."  
  
Dark eyes fluttered slowly opened. "Great Lady?"  
  
"I know why you've come and faith had made you strong." Skylaris' pointed teeth shone brightly in the moonlight. Utakku realized at that moment that the goddess was smiling. It brought a peace to his soul that he had ceased knowing in the past several centuries.  
  
"Does he speak truth?" Ashatsinu asked quietly and simply.  
  
"He does, given his current state of perspective." The dragon cast her gaze upon him. "You follow my daughter's path of blood and destruction, Utakku and if you wish to follow the Gargoyle Way, I won't stand for it. Spilling blood for Magick, murder, and sacrifice is abhorrent to me. I forbid it."  
  
"Then he truly desires an end to this war?"  
  
"He does, Child. Indeed, he has also lost loved ones." The heartrending sadness poured from the dragon into Ashatsinu's heart, bringing hot tears to her eyes. Skylaris turned to Utakku, tilting her head that he thought it to be a gesture of resignation. "Enki's supremacy is still too powerful, but, it is waning. If you wish to end this war between your people and the free tribes of man, I will give you my blessing. Enki's curse remains in place, far too powerful for my complete removal of it. Still, I will remember the favor you grant me on Ashatsinu's behalf. Aid and advise her with forthright truthfulness in this life, and I promise you a steadfast, enduring alliance...with a few conditions. Interested?"  
  
"Intrigued, actually." Utakku stroked his goatee in contemplation. "Speak to me."  
  
"Not all of your kinsmen drank of Tiamat's blood. In essence, their curse is incomplete. Said, such curse can be altered, perchance, undone. Help my DeMahri, adhere to the convenant between we three and I promise this: Your children will still fear fire; sunlight will be their blight. Yet, those not unequivocally touched by your curse will know some freedom from it."  
  
"I ask nothing for myself, Dragon, only peace and prosperity for my people." Utakku's grave response touched Ashatsinu's distraught spirit. "Why do you desire in return for truce and this alliance?"  
  
"For Tizir's sake, I'll entertain the possibility of taking under my wings." Skylaris' form shimmered in the moonlight as she ambled toward a thick grove of green bushes. "Let me get into something a bit more comfortable. Give me a minute."  
  
Ashatsinu and Utakku stared at one another slack-jawed with bewilderment. The Ahl-Kemehn leaned over and murmured softly, "Is this goddess always so impertinent?"  
  
"The polite words are sassy and mischievous." The young queen gently chided him. "She cursed one of the Gargoyle's with flatulence for a month when he blasphemed her and called her a toothless old hag."  
  
"She is a wily and sly trickster."  
  
"I think of her as formidable when given just cause." Ashatsinu covered her mouth to stifle a girlish giggle. "Laughter is a gift I wished she gave more readily to her DeMahri children."  
  
"I agree." He flashed the Queen a genuine smile.   
  
The duo turned their attention to the soft rustling of leaves of the bushes near them. An ethereal aura of gold and lavender shown between the leaves and the scent of fresh lilacs filled the balmy night air. The sound of pealing chimes entwined with the harmony of the crashing tide and the nocturnal choir chirping in the forest surrounding them. The night breeze carried a scent of wild berries so sweet that one current brought the taste alive upon Utakku's dead, untasting tongue. For the first time, in centuries, he felt lively and joyful.  
  
An exquisite, slender woman came forth from the lush, verdant grove of leaves and exotic blossoms. Her tawny complexion was smooth caramel and without flaw or blemish. A thick cascade of delicate jet braids fell to the small of her back. Opalescent pearls and sparkling amethyst beads adorned each intricately woven braid. Two delicate pearly horns daintily adorned her brow and beneath them, a slim platinum circlet designated her divine caste. Delicately arched brows and thick lashes framed lavender eyes the color of Amaranth blooms. Draped in jade and violet silk, there stood before them a Nubian immortal truly breathtaking in her resplendence. She bore no semblance to the colossal dragon eclipsing Ashatsinu and Utakku in previous moments.  
  
"Where were we?" The goddess asked cheerfully. She watched silently as Ashatsinu fell kneeling at her feet. Skylaris placed a gentle hand upon her shoulder. "Child, rise and look at me."  
  
"I knew you could tell me." Ashatsinu wiped the tears from her eyes. "I had heard the tales about you when I a child, but I never knew...."  
  
"Ashatsinu." Skylaris' soothing, tender voice calmed the unrest in the young queen's heart. "You have walked the pearled path and you are here. You have done much for my children and I deem that the truest walk of the Gargoyle Way."  
  
"Please, Great Lady, help us."  
  
"Dry you tears, Child." Skylaris gently lifted Ashatsinu's chin so that her dark gaze met hers. "Your devotion is steadfast. Be my child always."  
  
"Yes, Goddess." The Queen's meek reply was barely more than a whisper.  
  
Skylaris turned to Utakku. Her stern gaze slashed through all of his Magick and dominion, leaving him bare and defenseless against her majesty. "You love Tizir and I account that as part of your deliverance from my daughter's authority. Lives have fallen into oblivion, the DeMahri suffer great losses because of your campaigns against Kenan's tribe."  
  
"I fight for my people because Kenan seeks our destruction. I make no apologies." Utakku resolutely met Skylaris' gaze, standing audaciously in the face of the goddess' unyielding examination. "I serve Tiamat because she strengthens my people."   
  
"Yet, Tizir's love brings out probity that many thought lost when my daughter enslaved you with her darkness. Enki's curse reduced you to little more than a demon preying upon innocent souls and that I find abhorrent." Skylaris chided him as though he were a small child.  
  
"I have no regrets." Utakku stood defiant in the face of the goddess' relentless scrutiny.  
  
"You are prideful and arrogant and it annoys me." She sneered. "Yet, I have seen your heart, Son of Blood. You desire innocence and goodness returned to your people. You aided my beloved Ashatsinu and though you did so inasmuch as Tiamat bade you, I chronicle as courtesy to me. You grow weary of blood and death surrounding every night of you your bleak, lifeless existence and seek a better way."  
  
"True." Came Utakku's curt answer. Ashatsinu carefully studied the Ahl-Kemehn.   
  
[Is he trembling?!]  
  
"Utakku, you followed Tiamat for power and prestige. You loved Tizir and such affection restores a sliver of your lost humanity. The Waters of Life from my lake take away the taint of Tiamat's mark upon you and leave you renewed in my eyes, Utakku. Commit no more cruelties for pleasure or entertainment. Leave the Dark Way behind you."  
  
"How can I?" He asked quietly.   
  
"Why can't you?" Skylaris countered. "Do you wish it?"  
  
"I make no vows, Lady Dragon."  
  
"Then start anew. Your heart aches for life as you feel now. Your soul longs for kindness, honor and strength from compassion. I offer it."  
  
"How do I become this philanthropic creature you think me to be?" A crimson bead streaked down Utakku's cheek. "Enki's curse makes me death incarnate."  
  
"I am life incarnate, Son of Blood." Skylaris' husky voice filled the night. "The Gargoyle Way is path the devotion, honor and the wellspring of life. All who walk that pearled path must pass though the Gate by my invitation alone. Yet, it is welcome to all who desire a Greater Good."  
  
"You must think me a sentimental fool." Utakku stared directly into the amethyst gaze of the goddess.  
  
"Because Skylaris adores this realm so much that she brought the DeMahri to walk amongst all creatures. Walk the Gargoyle Way, keep the covenants within your heart, knowing the pearled path leads to a greater good and an eternal home upon the Blessed Isle."   
  
"A taste of goodness." He nodded in simple understanding.  
  
"Invite Life into your heart, embrace the Gargoyle Way of your own will and I will bestow renewed life to your kinsmen. You and they must follow faithfully the Tenets of the Way with sincerity or my blessing will be revoked." Skylaris' stern words made Utakku understand there was no room for negotiation or compromise. "No Enki and no Tiamat, I expect no less of you than I do my Children of Stone."  
  
"Lady Dragon, I shall call no one master." Utakku growled. "But, I give you my word I will honor this alliance."  
  
"For now, that is sufficient. Your heart is a dried husk rotting away inside a corpse. May your love for Tizir resurrect it anew. Let each soul and every heart elect its one, best destiny." Skylaris laid a hand upon his chest. "From this moment, your heart beats. The day will come, Utakku, when I shall bestow the Blessing of Renewed Life upon you, but you must first put aside your pride and arrogance. I see greatness within you and I see it prospering in Ashatsinu's presence."  
  
"I remain like this for the rest of my days?"  
  
"The time will come quicker than you think, Ahl-Kemehn. First, you must learn patience." She shook her head. "You carry Enki's mark, and now you also bear my mark upon your person. You are no longer a vampire of Old Curse. If you drink blood of a willing donor, you will be able to walk in the light of the sun unharmed. You will again know love and beauty, pleasure and happiness. Drink from an unwilling victim or of an unknowing innocent, and the sun's light will sear my blessing from your skin. Your kind may now procreate and give birth, but only once per century to keep their numbers you kind from become too dominant. No longer will you enslave the tribes of man or keep them enslave for labor, sacrifice or food. Your kind started out raising four-legged livestock, return to that way of life. Use your gifts of ken and skill; bring Humanity into their finest potential and additional blessings will find their way to your people. Yoke Humanity for your own benefit and Gomorrah will go down in flames."  
  
"I promise to do as you command."  
  
"Smart man. Those who never chose Tiamat's blood as their fate know my blessing from this moment until time's end. Teach them the Gargoyle Way."  
  
"I will speak of it to my people."  
  
"Always a skeptic, aren't you, Utakku?" Skylaris' chuckle came out more a strident roar than a laugh. "Here is a sign of my pledge to you. Today, watch the sunrise without your skin becoming flaming ash."  
  
"I reserve my judgment, Lady Dragon." His guarded reply sounded almost...hopeful.  
  
"Now, for you, Ashatsinu." Skylaris turned her attention to the young queen. "I've seen the misery of your people in Amor. I hear their cries for deliverance from Halmu's evil troops and his appalling ways. Therefore, I will remove his influence from your fair city and expand the oasis surrounding Amor. Let it be a dominion bountiful with fresh game, sprawling forests filled with ripe fruit and rivers teaming with many fish. The sweetest nectar will come from abundant blooms and ambrosia shall give your people long life. Let this beloved haven be sanctuary to your neighbors -the Canaanites, Hittites: all and any who espouse the Tenets of the Gargoyle Way. "  
  
"How will we know them?"  
  
"Simple -Here is the first Tenet and the greatest of them all." Skylaris' stepped from them. She sank slowly into the still waters of the silvery lake behind them. "Adhere and adore the Gargoyle Way fiercely and well without hesitation or reservation. Cherish all life as you do your own. Quest for the Greater Good."  
  
"Utakku and Ashatsinu, take my Tenets of the Way to your peoples. As long as they do this with sincerity of heart, strength of conviction and dedication of purpose, they will for all time know my blessing." Skylaris sank beneath the churning waves of the lake. The twittering of the birds ceased, the wind stilled and the first brilliant rays of sunlight danced upon the lake's eastern horizon.   
  
An explosion of crimson and violet burst in front of them. The sands smoldered at their feet, causing the duo to stare at each other in astonishment. Two large crystal orbs lay in front of them, nested securely in the sand. Immediately, Ashatsinu grasped the large sphere and held it to the light. Her eyes scanned the globe rapidly and within a prismatic cloud swirled. Etchings appeared upon the smooth, flawless surface of the orb. "Here are the Tenets of the Way, Ashatsinu. Take the orbs to Amor, Sodom, and Gomorrah and give the Tenets to your people. End the war, vanquish the evil there, assume your rightful throne and protect my Beloved DeMahri."  
  
"Yes, Great Lady." She murmured solemnly.  
  
"Do so with great speed, Gesham is in need of your aid."  
  
"But, Great Lady, how? It is nearly sunrise." Ashatsinu's hope fled when she noticed how much time had passed. "We'll never return to Amor in time."  
  
"On a dragon's breath so shall you and Utakku return. Dragon's speed to you, Little One, I am with you always. Utakku, do not leave her. As long as you remain faithful to my ways and honor your promise, both of your peoples shall prosper and know peace. Guide her well in the ways of sovereignty."  
  
"I understand and obey, Lady Dragon." He nodded curtly to the vanishing voice.  
  
"Now, go to it."  
  



	6. The Stone King VI

Disclaimer: Gargoyles are property of Buena Vista/ Disney. They do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, so please do not sue. However, all original characters are property of DenigoddessMMI aka Denigoddess2001.  
  
Please send all flames, praise, commentary and questions to Denigoddess2001yahoo.com  
  
Author: DenigoddessMMI  
  
Addy: Denigoddess2001yahoo.com  
  
Fandom: Gargoyles  
  
Saga: The Sentinels of Midnight  
  
Episode: The Stone King  
  
Rating: PG-13 (intense battle scenes)  
  
Date: April 27, 2004- May 10, 2004  
  
Author's notes: Anything appearing in brackets [ ] indicates character's thoughts or telepathic communication.   
  
The Stone King VI  
  
Dear Reader, there is much left to tell you. As our heroine found a place of peace with the most unexpected of allies, Utakku, much was amiss in the grand metropolis of Amor. Let us reverse brief time prior, at once following Halmu's premature departure from this world. A saga is by no means inclusive unless all sides are reveal themselves to the reader. So, find your answers and read on as the chronicle unfolds....  
  
Immediately following the Coronation of Ashatsinu...  
  
The plump Grand Vizier goggled gleefully the scene unfolding before him when the Guards roughly escorted Ashatsinu from the dining hall to the dungeon. He motioned to others of Halmu's elite guard to gather the dead king's body and remove it, taking the body to the All-Father's temple for preparation for a grand funeral. He watched Kenan; broken in spirit, weep like a woman as he sentenced his daughter to execution.   
  
"This is treason of the highest order, Kenan." Borak's complaining utterance resonated heavily with exultation at the turn of events. "Protocol demands that I, next in line to the throne, avenge my brother's death. I am an equitable man, Amorite, and I will not put all Amorites to the sword, as is my right. Rather, my armies will occupy this city and shall take tribute from it for the glory of Sodom. After all, one cannot exact tribute from corpses."  
  
Kenan wailed loudly, mad with grief and dementia, as he ripped his royal robes from his frail body. He buried his wrinkled face in his hands and wept bitter tears of defeat. Niza stared agape at the unforeseen turn of events. A foreigner was stealing her birthright, yet again. [Borak, you have made an enemy this night. By Tiamat's will, you will burn in the Abyss for this atrocity. You will not decimate my family.]   
  
Niza quietly slipped into the shadows and cast her spell so that she no longer remained in the dining hall. She swiftly made her way to her chambers, locking the heavy wooden oak door behind her. Letting her nimble fingers trace along the smooth mortar of the wall, she found the one loose brick concealing her most precious secrets. With her strength of rage, Niza lifted the cumbersome granite stone from its resting place in the wall. Before her lay a small scroll case and a leather-bound tome. She withdrew the large book from the space and set it on the altar near the wall. She sprightly flipped through the pages of parchment, scanning the hieroglyphs and ancient runes until her eyes spied the summoning spell she so desperately needed.  
  
Picking up the bone-handled lancet in her right hand, she drew its silver blade across her left palm.  
  
"Goddess of endless night  
  
Dragon of the Abyss  
  
Tiamat, hear my cries for vengeance  
  
when fate becomes amiss.  
  
Bring to me your darkest warrior  
  
In my greatest hour of need.  
  
I summon Utakku, Ahl-Kemehn,  
  
With every drop I bleed."  
  
Only silence filled the chamber.  
  
"You need must be great if you summoned me so abruptly from my sanctuary." A dark voice murmured behind Niza. "I am not a slave to be beckoned at a light whim."  
  
Niza hurriedly turned and faced her lord and master, Utakku. She knelt before him and kissed his feet. "My lord, not everything has transpired according to plan. I assassinated Halmu as you bid me to do so, or so I thought, never had I the opportunity of giving him the poison prepared for him. My Lord, it is my belief that Halmu's brother, the Grand Vizier, has aspirations complete dominion. He assumes his place as ruler of Sodom as we speak. He had Kenan sentence Ashatsinu to death and, at this moment, the guards take her to the dungeons. I beg you, Lord Utakku, do not let my birthright be stolen from me."  
  
"Rise, Niza." He rolled his eyes in disdain of her fawning and groveling. "This changes things. My power is weak here so far from my sanctuary; my native soil rests elsewhere. What do you demand of me?"  
  
"Please, my Lord, save my sister." Niza's bloodstained hands grasped the cowl of his cloak. "Tizir will be woeful if she knows that I have failed her. Borak has summoned Sodom's armies to lay waste to Amor."  
  
"I knew not of this."  
  
"Neither did I, Lord Utakku." Niza took him by the hand and led him to a large silver bowl filled with water atop the altar. The sorceress waved her hand over the still waters of the bowl and let three drops of her blood fall into the clear liquid. The water rippled and colors erupted within the bottom of the basin. The ripples shimmered and danced, reflecting brightly off the argent surface of the precious metal. She pointed to the clear images flickering in the scrying bowl. "The vision shows 10,000 of Sodom's finest warriors are within morning's march of Amor. When they arrive, they shall reduce this glorious realm to rubble."  
  
"I can do nothing. I am too far from my sanctuary, you must go this alone, Niza." Utakku shrugged.  
  
"No! There is a way. Rescue my sister from the dungeon. As long as she is alive, Borak is not truly king. She is a creature of reason, Utakku, and sound mind, aside from her arrogance and conceit. Speak with her and she will put a stop to this."  
  
"Why prevents you from taking action?"  
  
"I make potions and cast spells, but my power will not stop an entire army." Niza spoke curtly. "I am a witch, not a warrior. Your power, even in its diminished state, will be enough to free Ashatsinu."  
  
"The sun will rise soon and it is my bane." Utakku bluntly reminded the crimson-clad enchantress. "As I weaken, she and I will never make it past the guards Borak will have posted."  
  
"Yes, you will." Niza returned to the cubbyhole in the wall and withdrew a small scroll case. She pressed it urgently into Utakku's slender, pale hands. "This is a traveling scroll blessed by a DeMahri Priestess. It holds great power and will take you wherever you need to go."  
  
"DeMahri Magick repels me as much as sunlight, witch! Are you oblivious to this fact? To cast such a spell means my death." Utakku spat vehemently.  
  
"Ashatsinu can cast it." Niza quickly reassured her dark master. "Have her remove it from the scroll case and cast the spell. Get her out of there. She holds great favor with the DeMahri goddess and basks in her blessings...damn her to the Abyss. If anyone can rally an army to stop Borak's minions, Ashatsinu is the one to do it."  
  
"You mean she will call upon her faithful clan of winged beasts?" He rose a brow in grudging admiration as Niza silently nodded. "Oh, you are a clever one, Niza, letting your innocent young sister and her brutes do your bidding."  
  
"Please, Milord, go quickly." Niza pressed her fingers lightly into another stone near the cubbyhole. The grating of granite upon marble filled the bedchamber, revealing a doorway where prior had been none. "This corridor was placed her by my father's greatest architects and will lead you directly to the dungeon. Merely descend the staircase for three thousand steps and you press your fingers upon the ruby set in the stone wall when you rest upon the bottom stair. The wall will slide away and you will find a secret entrance to the guards' quarters in the dungeon."  
  
Clasping the small scroll case tightly in his hand, Utakku gave Niza a curt nod. "If all is lost, you shall be my first sign of retribution."  
  
"I understand and obey, Milord." Niza bowed deeply before the Soulless One.  
  
"If all fails, then we will need a distractions." Utakku stroked his black goatee in contemplation. "Do you have a vial untouched by any Magick?"  
  
"I do, Lord Utakku." Niza nodded eagerly.  
  
"Bring it to me."  
  
Niza rushed over to another table next to the altar. She lifted the gray coarse cloth covering the table and reached beneath it, pulled out a stone box inscribed with several hieroglyphs. She returned to her master, knelt before him, and presented the simple clay vial. "Will this do?"  
  
"Perfectly." Utakku's smile chilled Niza's soul so much that a white streak appeared upon a stray lock falling across her brow. He pushed back one of the long dark sleeves of his robe, exposing his pale, ashen forearm. A low roar erupted from him Niza watched in silent terror as his eyes became lost in scarlet gleam that illuminated the room in a sea of unholy brightness. A choked gasp escaped the sorceress as his bared teeth exposed elongated canines. His lips snarled revealing piercing teeth; his skin distorted as though it were wet clay read for a sculptor's hands. Halmu's jaws extended almost to his chin giving him the appearance of a distorted caricature of his former self. He sank his incisors into the tender skin of his forearm, a deep crimson pool formed upon his white skin. He held the clay vile to the bleeding wound and let the glutinous mass pour into the small vial. He corked it with a chuck of his ripped skin and handed it to her.  
  
"Where is Halmu's body?"  
  
"It is in the funeral chambers in the lower sub-levels of the palace." Niza shrugged, confused. "Why?"  
  
"Pour my blood upon Halmu's lips before Kenan's priests mummify him. He wished for Tiamat's legacy. I shall have need of his particular talents soon enough."  
  
"As you wish, Lord Utakku." She took the vial from him and placed it near her bosom.  
  
"No go!" He ordered. "Be quick. For if all fails, then he will be our last resort."  
  
Mardok spoke with the remaining witnesses in the great dining hall, gathering accounts of what passed before their eyes. Arana paced about the large room, using her natural sensitivities, seeing if Magick were the culprit responsible for Halmu's assassination. Jubah and Hectus summoned the other palace eunuchs to clean up the mess amongst the mayhem and chaos. Gesham ordered two of his best warriors to the dungeons to guard Ashatsinu. He practically trampled two servant girls busily scrubbing the dais to remove the blood from the polished marble floor of the dais.  
  
[The blood.]  
  
"Stop!" Gesham's bellow echoed loudly off the barren marble walls of the dining hall. His tail twitched in contemplation as a myriad of thoughts bolted through his mind. His wings unfurled as he stared at the remaining droplets still on the stone. He knelt down and wiped some blood on one of his talons. He sniffed it; an acrid miasma filled his keen senses. It was a bittersweet scent resembling almonds, roses, and cobra venom.  
  
"Nightbane." His low, primal growls meshed with the resounding thud cracking the marble beneath him. His eyes became luminescent refractions of his scarcely constrained wrath. Any Human making the same discovery would have slammed a fist through a wall.   
  
Arana watched her son's amber eyes flash with unholy white fire. She made her way to Gesham's side. He looked sideways at her and held one of his blood-covered talons beneath Arana's delicately flaring nostrils. "Smell this. This is the poison Amorite warriors' dip their arrows in to press their advantage in battle. Only three in this know the formula for this toxin."  
  
"You, myself and Niza." Arana finished for him.  
  
"Aye." His brow ridge furrowed in barely contained fury and rage. "If I but see Niza, her life will be forfeit."  
  
"This entire occurrence is but one consummate travesty." Gesham shook his head in contempt. "A blameless woman will die for someone else's crime and Kenan is beyond cognizance. Borak is running amok issuing orders and Niza is nowhere to be found."  
  
"If only Kenan had a son." Arana sighed heavily. "Our beloved city is going to be shortly within the hands of a madman hell-bent on conquering every Amorite."  
  
"I will save Ashatsinsu's life, by the Goddess, I vow it."  
  
"What can you do, Gesham?" Arana's talons laid gently upon his broad shoulders to comfort and calm the frenzy DeMahri. "Are you going to die in her stead?"  
  
"Nay, Shaman." He growled. Gesham cloaked his shoulders, the sienna and caramel folds of his wings draped around him as royal robes befitting a compelling sovereign. He strode confidently  
  
toward the middle of the dais, deftly reaching for the large mallet resting before the brass gong still positioned on the dais. "It is time that all be made right in this city. I grow weary of this clandestine farce gone awry."  
  
Gesham took the gigantic wooden mallet in hand and rang the gong. The clamorous peal shook the very pillars holding the plaster roof above them. A strident roar filled with rage and fury filled the hall. All eyes of Kenan's court turned to the clan leader standing in his glory on that stage. His tawny wings unfurled to their entire length, spanning the several cubits of the dais. "I am Gesham of the Clan Ahp Druingra and trusted advisor to our beloved king, Kenan. He has no sons to aid him in this time of tribulation and distress. Until he is afresh with sound mind, as he has so deemed me before all of his court twenty seasons past, I take the duty of Lord Regent and will reign over Amor in his stead until such time Kenan assumes his duties."  
  
The hushed crowd burst forth into a boisterous cheer. Barok sputtered in indignation. "You commit treason. By the marriage contract, Kenan swore fealty to Sodom in exchange for Halmu's benevolent protection."  
  
"If you have not noticed, Borak, Halmu is dead." Gesham's roar thundered so loudly that Borak screamed in terror and scampered back several steps. "With his death, that marriage contract is void. Ashatsinu is Sodom's queen and free from any man."  
  
"You have no right to sit upon Kenan's throne, Beast." Borak found enough bravado to rush forward and poke his pudgy finger several times in Gesham's broad chest. "You are not Human."  
  
"Borak, you make me thankful to the Goddess that I am not."  
  
Borak's chubby arm made a sweeping motion toward the crowd of stunned, silent aristocracy and courtesans. "These people are cattle, Gesham, and cattle are frightened by those creatures who make them their prey. How long will they pledge loyalty to you? Ultimately, their hatred of your kind will consume them and they will shatter you as they sleep one night."  
  
"Nevertheless, tonight is not that night." Gesham gave the Grand Vizier a grim smile.   
  
These people will not answer to a winged demon who practices Magick."  
  
"I will not let you draw your armies through those city gates."   
  
"They will be here in by morning's time." Borak gloated. "Whatever you do to me will determine your city's fate. I advise you surrender. My elite guards outnumber your city guard five to one. Even if you were to win, they are no match for you."  
  
"So you say, Borak. Let me bring the truth to you. Clan, to me!" Gesham raised his tightly clenched fist in defiance. Within the dying echoes of his war cry, nearly fifty dozen DeMahri warriors filled the hall. "One DeMahri warrior can slaughter ten of your best. I need only give the word and your so-called 'elite' guard will be remnants for the scorpions and the jackals by sunrise."  
  
Five warriors surrounded the short little man. Borak cringed and a meek squeak escaped his throat.  
  
Gesham leaned forward, canines flashing in the firelight, eyes gleam with argent flame. "Do not tempt me to take your life here and now. We WILL find the underlying cause of this crime and while we do so, my warriors prepare for battle. You will remain our honored 'guest' for the remainder of his stay here."  
  
A clear, liquid golden stream trickled down the Vizier's leg, staining his pristine white robes with a deep saffron, forming a pool beneath his jeweled sandals.  
  
"Mardok, escort our . . . guest to the dungeon where Ashatsinu resides. Assign guards to his door day and night. If he tries to leave without an escort, kill him."  
  
Mardok's canines contrasted sharply against his midnight indigo complexion when he smiled. "Yes, Lord Regent, I am most happy to comply."  
  
"Oh, and how will you stop me during the day?" Borak taunted the blue Gargoyle as the five warriors dragged him kicking and squealing like a wounded boar. "You will never get away with this, Gesham. I will be victorious."  
  
Borak's screams faded as the DeMahri warriors carried him from the dining hall.  
  
Silence filled the room. Gesham turned to the mute spectators. He pointed in the direction of where the squat, rotund man had been taken. "Does he speak truth? Will you stand by while our beloved city becomes fodder for his armies. Will you let all Kenan has built crumble to dust. If you are not with me, then be cowards and join the women and children in the caverns beneath the city. Who is with me?"  
  
Again, silence filled the room.  
  
"The Amazon nation has two hundred warriors within Amor's walls." A booming feminine voice came from the crowd. In all her statuesque splendor, Zillah stepped forward. "Gesham, as Queen of the Amazon Nation, we hereby formally recognize your sovereignty as Lord Regent of Amor. My warriors and I will gladly guard this pompous your clan as you sleep and we will fight to save this city. We will fortify your force and join you in battle."  
  
"We much appreciate your alliance, Zillah." Gesham clasped her forearm in a warrior's handshake. "Wellmet."  
  
"I pledge my personal guard and all twenty of our chariots here to help you in battle." A high tenor echoed the heroic sentiments of the Amazon Queen. Inhokomen, King of Eridu, stepped forward. "I recognize your right your regency until such a time Kenan will assume his rightful place or his proper heir rules in his stead."  
  
Gesham met the Simianites gaze. The tawny Gargoyle clasped the lad's forearm in a strong grip.  
  
"Then Amor and Eridu will be allies in this great campaign." He turned to Mardok. "Take two dozen of our finest warriors and fly patrol along the southern perimeter. Direct your lieutenants to round up any Sodomite and coral them in the dungeon."  
  
Mardok's argent locks veiled his face as he bent forward in compliance. Indigo wings draped elegantly around wide, solid shoulders. "As you wish." He looked up and gave his leader a sly wink, "My lord."  
  
"Arana, you are with me. We follow the guards and free Ashatsinu."  
  
"And then what, Gesham?" Arana tilted her canine head to the right, obviously perplexed. She diligently scratched behind one pointed ear.  
  
"Subsequently, she will become my mate before the clan and my wife....if she will have me." Gesham finished with a heavy sigh. "May Skylaris forgive me, but I love Ashatsinu with all that I have in me."  
  
"Well, no lightning bolt has struck you down and turned you into a particularly crispy Gargoyle." The elder shaman chuckled. "So I think my Mother favors the match."  
  
"Your mother and you are both sly tricksters." He grumbled. "You females vex me thus."  
  
"Get your tail out of you ass, Gesham." Arana's elliptical eyes gleamed their eerie jade and amber glow. "If you would think with the brain inside your head rather than the one residing in your temper, you would do well to go with Mardok and ask for her to be your mate."  
  
He acquiesced with a terse nod and strode swiftly from the dining hall leaving Arana to oversee the bringing of order to the night's chaos. Through corridors and stairwells, the immense warrior made his way through the narrowing, winding passages until he rejoined Mardok and his lieutenants. As he arrived, he found the door to Ashatsinu's cell open, the human guard ordered to watch her fast asleep against the cold stone wall.  
  
Gesham's heart hammered loudly inside his broad chest with each step he made toward his Beloved Ashatsinu. He flew past the younger Gargoyles accompanying Mardok and made his way into the narrow, damp cell. His mind called out to her in an eddying amalgam of exultation, steadfast devotion and vibrant adoration. The argent fire of his arduous emotions blazed within his amber eyes. He entered the cell and his heart shattered into a thousand jagged, anguished shards.  
  
The cell was empty.   
  
He rushed back to Mardok, grasping him roughly by his upper arms. "Where is she?"  
  
"Gesham, I do not know. She was not here when we opened the door." Mardok motioned to the sleeping Human slumped against the wall near the door snoring raucously. "He does not wake and all endeavors to do so fail."  
  
Gesham's brow ridge rose in terse contemplation as he strode the short distance of the confining prison cell. The acrid stench of drying blood flooded his acute olfactory senses with its tomblike aroma. He noticed the tanned leather wineskin lying haphazardly upon the drab stone floor with glistening burnished ocher globules coagulated in a gelatinous puddle upon the cold, gray granite floor. The strapping warrior let tawny and flaxen wings drape around his broad shoulders, resembling a flowing cloak for a sovereign, and let his talons trace a indolent path through the ruby pool. He tentatively brought his sanguine-drenched talons to his nostrils and deeply inhaled the blood's essence. A low, discordant rumble erupted from within Gesham's chest and exploded into a deafening roar, its ferocity and intensity making change rattle and manacles jangle.  
  
"This is Ahl-Kemehn blood." He growled through clenched canines. "One of the Soulless took her."  
  
"My Leader," Mardok discreetly motioned around the small cell. "There is no sign of struggle; no other blood stains the floor but from this wineskin."  
  
"Vampires are masters of mesmerizing and enthralling their victims with but a glance." Gesham turned and faced his most trusted confidant and lieutenant. "Ashatsinu is a valuable bargaining chip since being crowned Queen of Sodom. Many will pay a high price for her in their bed or for her safe return. She is a pawn in such a way I never contemplated."  
  
Mardok knelt down and traced his fingers along the mortar between the stones in the floor. A jagged gasp escaped him. Gesham saw Mardok's jaw agape and azure eyes grand with incredulity. The indigo gargoyle said nothing, only letting his index talon point to the intricate Draconic runes deeply etched into the cold granite floor stones. "Gesham, The Princess partook of her escape without restraint or coercion. No Ahl-Kemehn stands well against DeMahri Magick; it is their bane and death."  
  
Gesham carefully studied the runs engraved within the cobblestones, charily tracing each scratch with his talons. He closed his eyes tight, commanding his bewildered mind to remain free of thoughts of betrayal and treachery. "No Mardok, something is amiss. I know her writing well from the notes we exchanged when she was but a budding lass; these marks came, indeed, from her hand. She is adherent of the Gargoyle Way; she will not embrace the Way of the Abyss."  
  
"Are you so sure, My Leader?" Mardok dared ask the challenging question yet unspoken between he and Gesham. "Whatever Soulless filth took her probably has addled her mind with spellbinding sorcery. She is probably not herself."  
  
"Aye. Though only a Human woman, she is skilled in the ways of war and is dangerous even to our warriors. Take ten of our warriors and scout the city's parameter. If you find her, render her harmless and bring her to me." Gesham sighed heavily. "I pray Goddess keeps her and all of you safe."  
  
"Have trust that the Great Lady cares for all of her children." Mardok's calm voice quietly assured the resigned clan leader. "We will find your mate, Gesham."  
  
Gesham nodded silently, a hint of thankfulness in his amber eyes for his friend's spoken support. He turned to the young kelly-skinned warrior to his left flank. "Lott, now is the time for you to be a true warrior. Gather the Human women and children and take them into the caves beneath the city. Take ten of your rookery brothers and guard them with your lives. If you hear not from me again and the worst happens, take them to Eridu. Tell them not to look back."  
  
"I do not understand, Leader."  
  
"Do not question me!" Gesham roared. "If we fail in saving Amor, then Sodom and Gomorrah will fall next. Arana shall cast her Magick that no being, alive or undead, will be able to look upon the city without turning to stone for eternity. Dragonspeed to you."  
  
"As you command, Leader." Lott quickly bowed and quickly left the prison cell.   
  
"Seti, to me." Gesham motioned to the Dame standing directly behind him. He studied the young lavender Dame barely past her first right of passage, scarcely an adult in the eyes of the clan. "Summon Zillah and our allies to the rookery, for we are to have a council of war."  
  
"At once, Gesham." She left to do his bidding.  
  
Niza listened several feet beyond the corridor just out of sight of the DeMahri's keen vision. She heard their conversation and took mental note of all she heard. Waving her hand over her face and muttering a few words, she stood plastered against the wall. The hems of her crimson veils fluttered, and a slight wind blew through the corridor. Niza watched as the red silks slowly darkened until they became a murky black. She felt the subtle breeze blow through her rather than around her and she smiled knowingly. Holding her arms out before her she watched as the inky blackness consuming her veils poured like ink over her skin until she stood as a flat black shadow against the wall. Flowing like water over sand, the living and thinking shade made her way along the wall and skimmed along the ceiling over the exiting DeMahri party.  
  
For several minutes, she glided over the damp granite stones of the corridor ceiling until she came to a barred door at the end of the hall. Descending until she was a flat silhouette along the floor, the shadow made its way into the next room by passing through the space between the large wooden door and the stone floor. Once inside the mummification chamber, the inky pool rose slowly into the air and began taking a form resembling that of a woman. Niza hovered several inches above the floor and made her way to the lone body lying across the room on a stone slab.  
  
Letting her feet touch the ground, she leaned over Halmu's still, lifeless body. "My Love, our Master has other uses for you this night. What you couldn't give me in life, I shall take in your death."  
  
With a flick of her thumb, the dried skin corking the clay vial flew and fell upon the floor. Niza slowly brought the clay vial to her lips and swallowed some of the brackish fluid. "Why should you alone receive Tiamat's gift of immortality when it was I who brought this glorious scheme alive?"  
  
She paused, wondering if she was next for Death. Nothing happened. The room remained silent and there was no spectacle of lightning or clap of thunder. Rage swelled within the sorceress with the realization that Utakku's blood carried no such gift of immortality. Then, a cramp in her stomach twitch, causing Niza to collapse. Tremors wracked her body and she lost grip of the clay vial. As she fell to the floor writhing in agony from the burning churning in her stomach, she watched the vial soar through the air and land on the edge of the stone slab where Halmu lay. She watched the ooze seep from the broken vial and inch along the stone until it touched the corpse's cheek. Like a scorpion coming in for the kill of its pray, the dark red ooze slithered along Halmu's cheek until it found his pale, blue lips. Claiming possession, the blood seeped into his mouth.   
  
The pain overwhelmed the sorceress and unconsciousness was her release from the torture she endured.  
  
As the darkness claimed her, Niza mentally chided herself for doubting Lord Utakku's word. She saw Halmu sit upright on the stone slab, stare at her and smile. Her last thought flowed through her mind as the darkness took her. [By the gods, what have I done?]  
  
Within the thick, mighty stone walls of the rookery, located deep beneath the city, the rulers allied with Gesham met and contemplated their situation. Sodom's armies were nearly ten thousand strong, and as Borak had gleefully informed Gesham, outnumbered Amor's city guard four-to-one. Even with too hundred of Eridu's Amazon city guard, six hundred DeMahri warriors, and two thousand Amorite guards, and forty of Eridu's finest charioteers, the odds remained bleak for Amor.  
  
Strategies planned became swift reality. Gesham ordered Kenan's cache of Phoenician fire used upon Borak's advancing forces. It was a horrible weapon of destruction, no water extinguished its flames. Archers lined around the city's entire perimeter and ready for attack. The Amazons under Zillah's command fortified the walls with every large, massive thing within the city, ranging from logs and stones to heavy furniture. Another warrior confirmed that Lott successfully escorted nearly six hundred women and children deep within the subterranean levels beneath the city. Gesham decided the best and heaviest attacks executed shortly before sunrise was the best strategy. The group of rulers planned an air offensive with the gargoyles as the first wave, fired by Phoenician Fire launched from the catapults and then followed by cascade of arrows let loose by the archers. Arana cast her spell with the other wizards, witches and Magi in the city so that all three cities become salt and stone should Amor fall to Borak's approaching army.  
  
Gesham made his way to the walls with the other DeMahri warriors for the impending Gargoyle onslaught upon Sodom's ground troops. With sword in hand, he silently prayed to his beloved Dragon for blessings and victory.  
  
"Beloved Lady, you are my guardian.  
  
For nothing I yearn, yet bring victory for my clan.  
  
You bid me good flight in clear, moonlight skies.  
  
You renew me with the Waters of Life.  
  
Strengthen my innermost heart and lead me to   
  
The path of the Gargoyle Way, bringing forth  
  
The Greater Good.  
  
Aye, when I glide in darkest night where the Abyss reigns,  
  
Let bravery dwell within and remain my companion when  
  
Facing the darkness falling upon me.  
  
Abide within me always, Great Lady. Remain  
  
Steadfast and devout to this humble servant of the Way.  
  
Let your wings shelter me from the elements.  
  
Let your breath warn me. O Goddess, bless me  
  
With bountiful plenty within sight of my adversaries.  
  
Bestow upon me your blessed kiss of fortification.  
  
You humble me with your kindness.  
  
Surely love and compassion will embrace all those of   
  
clan and all of your children. Should I meet  
  
Death in Battle this night, let me welcome it  
  
fiercely and well without hesitation or reservation.  
  
Then, I shall know Paradise, drinking of the Sweet  
  
Waters of Life from the blessed Isles as long as time  
  
endures. Therefore, mote it be. Be with me always."  
  
He clutched Ashatsinu's signet ring that hung around his neck and thought of his Beloved Ashatsinu. Gesham longed to see her, hear her voice, and embrace her within his wings only one more time. No news of her reached him and he feared the worse.  
  
"Oh, My Heart." He murmured softly. "May Goddess keep you well. Know that I love you and that you are my true mate."  
  
Without a second thought, Gesham pushed sentiment aside and led the first formation of Gargoyles into the darkened skies to meet their enemies.  
  
The clan leader led his regiment of winged warriors in the skies against the black dragons blasting Amor with columns of fire. With calculated determination, Gesham and several of his lieutenants took down three of the winged reptiles. The second bombardment of arrows came from the Amazons and the Sodomites returned fire. Gesham felt bolts of scorching agony rip his unfurled wings. The battle raged on in the chaos, no one saw the great leader descend with a dull thud to the ground below him.  
  
Ashatsinu and Utakku flew upon the wings with speed greater than a desert storm toward Amor. With his powerful arms around her, Ashatsinu's ancestor kept solid hold of her as strong, steady winds propelled them to their destination. Hints of rose and gold lined the eastern sky as they made their way toward home.  
  
"We have little time." Ashatsinu whispered gravely to her ally.  
  
"I see the sun rising in the east, Queen." He looked at her and flashed her a quirky grin. "You have a talent for stating the obvious."  
  
"By the Dragon, many thanks." Came her caustic reply. "Be glad that you are no enemy tonight."  
  
"You know the old adage, Queen. 'Keep your allies close and your descendants closer."  
  
She stared at him as though Utakku had gone stark-raving mad. "Did you just wink at me?"  
  
"What do you think?"  
  
"Just a few hours ago you wanted to drain me dry."  
  
"It's my prerogative to change my mind. Moreover, my opinions of you have heightened. You not the typical hairless ape that is suitable only for food."  
  
"And you are not the undead rotting son-of-the-Abyss that I thought you." She quipped.  
  
"I am a son-of-the-Abyss, but an honest son-of-the-Abyss."  
  
"Hardly." Ashatsinu scoffed at his glib statement.  
  
"This could be the foundation of a delightful and entertaining friendship." Utakku winked at her.  
  
"Don't push your luck." She said in the common speech of her people. "So why the sudden change of mood?"  
  
"For the reason that, my dear Ashatsinu, your Dragon gives me some I forgot existed, even in a heart as unbeating as mine."  
  
"And what, pray tell, is that?" One delicately arched brow rose in sardonic skepticism.  
  
"Hope." He gave her a peaceful smile that unreservedly stunned her.  
  
"You just might be redeemable after all."  
  
"I would not say that just yet, Queen." Was Utakku's cryptic reply.  
  
"You have awakened, My Love." A deep voice filled the burial chamber.  
  
"Halmu?" Niza groggily replied.  
  
"Yes, you have returned me to life." He extended his hand to her and helped Niza to her feet. "I am Immortal as are you and we have Tiamat's power at our command."  
  
"Utakku saw fit to make good on his promise of extending her legacy to you." Niza dusted off the scarlet veils of her robes. "Now what do we do?"  
  
"We bring Amor to the ground." His ominous laughter echoed hollowly off the stone walls. "Take my hand, Love, and let us commence as we planned."  
  
"With pleasure." Her wicked smile delighted the Ahl-Kemehn. "The best place to do that is from the highest vantage point in the city."  
  
"Then, take us to Kenan's palace."  
  
With a wave of her hand, dark smoke seeped from the mortar beneath them. It swirled around the two Soulless Ones and enveloped them in a column of acrid black vapor. With a flash of crimson light and fire, they left the chamber behind them. Within a breath, they stood upon the balcony of the palace's highest tower. Halmu leaned over the stone railing and watched the troops gather into formation. He pointed to the East.  
  
"See Niza, I knew my armies would arrive on time. Even now the war begins."  
  
The two held one another in a strong embrace as they watched the first onslaught of flaming arrows soar through the twilight sky, striking at the Sodomite troops. They watched as regiments of DeMahri warriors sweep down upon the unsuspecting Sodomites, attacking from the air with talons and tails. Spears met many DeMahri warriors and they fell like angels from the sky. Niza became nearly entranced as she watched Amorite catapults launch boulders blazing with Phoenician Fire fly over Amorite's walls and strike several squadrons of Sodomite warriors.  
  
For minutes, they two Soulless Ones watched in awe as the power and fury of two armies clashed. Halmu motioned to the battle raging below them. "Now, use your power that Tiamat has given you. Bring forth the powers of the Abyss."  
  
Niza stepped away from Halmu and raised her hands skyward. Chanting, she drew forth from the malevolent energy flowing through her. Thick, dark clouds covered the moon and black sand in the form of a great sirocco blasted the ground between the Sodomite troops and Amor's granite walls. The flying granules took on forms of creatures, all with wings. Some became raptors on the ground while others formed wings and took to the skies.  
  
"Look, My Love, the black dragons of the Abyss now launch their attack upon the city." She turned to her lover. "Are you not pleased?"  
  
"I am very pleased, Niza." Halmu kissed her deeply, nipping so that a drop of crimson appeared upon her lips. His tongue licked away the glistening drop. "Now, you and I are one."  
  
A column of ruby came from the sky and a large boulder landed behind them. Niza screamed as the impact of the blazing meteorite sent her flying several yards across the balcony. Halmu felt the debris hit him squarely in the back. He focused his gaze skyward and saw two black dragons circling overhead.  
  
"Damnation! Control them!" He bellowed to the injured sorceress.  
  
No answer came. He dashed around the flames and found Niza lying on her back with glazed eyes and a long, jagged shard of boulder impaling her through the chest. He knew she was in Tiamat's realm now as another tormented soul.   
  
Halmu's scream of rage filled the fire-filled night.  
  
The pointed bantering brought Ashatsinu some relief from the impending disaster she knew awaited them. She had no time to do anything but scream as streaks of fire streamed across the skies in a lethal weave of fire and flame. Another scream fell from her lips when fire rose to meet them. With a deftness defying the natural laws of ken, Utakku rode the currents of the powerful winds and avoided the tower of flame without difficulty.  
  
"It's too late!" A wail escaped her. "It has started."  
  
Ashatsinu and Utakku watched in stunned silence as Gargoyles below them descended upon Sodom's armored troops. Larges blazing globes of stone and Phoenician Fire flew through the murky sky, making it brighter than midday in the desert. A torrent of flaming arrows arced gracefully in flight, impaling numerous Human warriors beneath them. Spears flew with violent fury, piercing many Gargoyle's hearts and wings. Ashatsinu fury swelled as she saw many of her beloved clan fall like banished seraphim to earth, only to meet their demise at the ends of Sodomite swords and spears.  
  
"Utakku, do something!" She screamed hysterically. "You have to stop this."  
  
They landed at the highest point in the city, the balcony of Kenan's palace. The sycophant grasped her roughly by the shoulders. "This was not the fate I had planned for your city, by your Goddess, I swear it."  
  
"You lie." She screeched.  
  
"You are so right." He clicked his tongue in mock dismay. "Temper, temper, Queen. You should know by now that I am a Son-of-the-Abyss."  
  
"May you burn for this."  
  
"I won't, but you shall." He pointed over her shoulder. "I think that there is someone who has unfinished business with you."  
  
She looked over her shoulder and saw the hulking, flaming mass of Halmu only a few yards away. "You can't be alive! I watched you die!"  
  
"I did, but your sister has a way of bringing out the best in me." Halmu chuckled. "I asked you to bring me to life, Ashatsinu, but Niza did what you refused to do."  
  
"I'll leave you two lovebirds to get reacquainted." Utakku took to the air. He nodded to Ashatsinu. "Halmu, do with her as you will. She no longer serves my purpose. Enjoy your reunion."  
  
Utakku raised his arms into the air and chanted in a language as ancient as Draconic. He called upon the names of desert elementals and commanded them to do his bidding. Seven massive columns of lightning, sand and wind descended from the sky, dancing a deadly path across the dunes toward the oasis. Had Ashatsinu turned her attention to the skies behind her, she would have seen the seven cyclones tear through Sodom's garrisons, devouring soldiers and Gargoyles alike within the coils of those devastating winds. Black dragons erupted from the swirling sands, brandishing scorching breath of acid upon two thousand troops. More black dragons came from the fires within the cyclones, incinerating any and all in their way.   
  
Asatsinu watched the scorched corpse levitate above the fire; his robes became tinder for the flames licking the hems of his robes. With arms outstretched, he slowly brought his palms together. As he did, the trails of fire moved in closer, corralling the Queen in a circle of heat and blaze. He gazed at her from his lofty position and shook his head. "Poor pampered Princess, now you really are in a quandary."  
  
The shards of exploding boulders rained down upon them. She looked skywards and knew that Death wanted her demise by impalement or combustion. Without weaponry, Ashatsinu knew victory against Halmu was impossible. Crouching low to the ground, she used the strength in her legs and hurdled through the wall of flame. She rolled onto the hot stone floor, smothering the flames eating her skin. She shed the veils that confined her and saw that Halmu pursued her with a relentlessness that terrified her to the depths of her soul.  
  
The armory was only a minute away, but she knew that it was a gigantic firestorm and impossible to reach. She glanced quickly at the balcony and knew that being several stories from the ground jumping over the edge was not an option. As Halmu cornered her, she grasped one of the long burning shards lying on the ground. Sheer rage made her aim strong and true as she hurled the makeshift spear at her approaching enemy. It pierced his left shoulder, but missed his heart. She knew only two ways of killing a Soulless One. Obviously, fire was not working due to Tiamat's protective Magick.  
  
Ashatsinu muttered under her breath. "I have to behead him."  
  
[All right, you want me, come get me.] With that, she let her primal instincts consume her. Ashatsinu ran.  
  
She jumped over burning wood timbers and dodged falling granite blocks. The smoke burned her lungs when she breathed, so she fell to a crawl in the hellish corridor. Her only objective was to find a sword and fight valiantly before he killed her. The desperate Queen heard his malevolent cackle ricochet off the walls even though the sound of the crackling fire was deafening. Through the smoldering haze, she saw his silhouette settle to the ground. She knew Halmu could not levitate through all of the debris in his way.  
  
Ashatsinu passed the massive oaken doors to the dining hall lit with crimson tongues burning away at them, engulfed in a sea of hellfire. Smoke billowed as rich fabrics of silk and velvet became fuel for the hungry blaze. She turned and found that a wall of flame moving behind and steadily toward her blocked her way. Ashatsinu fearfully peered around the corner and saw his face take form in some form of smoky wraith. The cloud formed into a likeness of his features as he hunted her. She jumped past the flames into the great dining hall and saw a large onyx statue of Ptah standing against the wall. Halmu had brought it as part of the bride price he had paid Kenan for Ashatsinu's hand in marriage.   
  
She squatted behind Ptah's polished black icon. "Hear me, Ptah, the one that Gargoyles call Zendrazane. You are the crafter of weaponry and metal. Let me have a weapon in my hand so that I can destroy that lunatic. My people suffer from this and I need help. Let me kill him or let me die with honor."  
  
"Ashatsinu!" A baritone voice quietly beckoned beckoned her. The smoke rolled, heavy and thick through the corridor making it difficult for Ashatsinu's sight to see who called to her. "Ashatsinu."  
  
"Please, do not let me die a coward. Let me do one thing to save my people." She fought back the sheer desolation of her impending fate.   
  
"Ashatsinu, look UP." The commanding baritone voice demanded.   
  
Her eyes burned from the toxic fumes made by the burning inferno surrounding her. She let her eyes follow the length of the statue. Yet, instead of hematite feet, there were ebony feet clad in black sandals. Her eyes met not with a gold and pearl sarong, but one of white and gold linen. Somewhere within the chaos and the mayhem, Ashatsinu noticed that his skin was akin to burnished hematite and not the hue of the Nubians as she first thought. In place of a head with amethyst gems for eyes, she saw twinkling lavender looking down at her. Her eyes traveled upwards and she saw a warrior armed with two gleaming silver scimitars. Long argent locks, frosty and brilliant as starlight crowned the onyx-skinned warrior in a halo of moonlight. She noticed in his left ear dangled a platinum hoop with an amethyst bead adorning it.  
  
[Just like the one Gesham gave me!] Her hand touched her ear in silent acknowledgement.  
  
"Open your eyes, Daughter of Earth." A gentle, masculine voice commanded her. Ashatsinu attempted so and found that the stinging sensation left her. He sheathed the scimitars, offered her a strong hand, and brought her to her feet.  
  
She stared into the billowing clouds of heavy, black smoke and saw a man with ebony skin standing in front of her. She studied him again, rubbing her eyes against the sting of the vanishing smoke. He was not a man, but a Dark Elf. With pointed ears and highly arched white brows, he could not be mistaken for Human. He was Kiari.  
  
"Who are you?" Ashatsinu asked the Dark Elf standing before her. [No Kiari dwell within Amor's walls.]  
  
"I am Zendrazane."   
  
As she rose to her feet, Ashatsinu realized that he wore an ankh with a dragon entwined around it. She knew the ankh was a symbol of everlasting life. "Are you here to take me from this life?"  
  
"No, Ashatsinu. I am here to save yours this night."  
  
"You're Zendrazane!" She shook her head in bewilderment.   
  
"The last time I check." He said with mirth.  
  
"What in the seven heavens are you doing here?"  
  
"A righteous warrior called out my name and I came."  
  
"Gesham?"  
  
"No, Ashatsinu, you." Zendrazane dusted some ash from her shoulders.  
  
"Women are not warriors-" She started.  
  
"A warrior is more than her fighting ability or her sword." He gently chided her. "So get that Human thought out of your head right now."  
  
"What about Gesham and my father?"  
  
"Let Gesham fight his battle, now let me help you with the one awaiting you."  
  
"I can't defeat a Soulless One like Halmu." Ashatsinu sobbed in utter defeat. "He is far too powerful."  
  
"You fought two of his kind in the desert and destroyed them. You have won a Gargoyle's heart. Only a brave warrior can do such feats." Zendrazane let the silence fall between them. He held out his palms and two copper and mithral sais appeared. "I crafted these for you long before you were conceived. Skylaris thinks you worthy to wield these, as do I."  
  
"They are not bladed."  
  
"Nor need they be, Ashatsinu." Zendrazane ran his dark slender fingers along the blunt shaft of the sais as they floated in midair. "You bear Skylaris' blessing, you retain all of Zillah's knowledge of warfare, you know all of Arana's wisdom, and you have Gesham's love. These sais are for you and all of your descendants for as long as time endures. Your blood has touched their hilts and they are bloodbound to you and your daughters, and your daughters' daughters for the rest of time. Use them wisely and well, Daughter of Earth. Go do what must be done."  
  
"Where is Skylaris?" Ashatsinu babbled hysterically. "Where is she?"  
  
"Currently, she is dealing with some exceedingly livid black dragons that Utakku and Niza summoned from the Abyss to deal with the Amorites."  
  
"Menash Kah!" The expletive fell from Ashatsinu's lips in complete bewilderment.  
  
"Profanities are not very ladylike or becoming of a warrior." He tenderly smiled. His hair seemed unscorched by the flames surrounding them. In fact, his thick tresses were of the brightest silver, nearly frosty white in their brilliance.   
  
"You are the god of craftsman!" She blubbered and fell to her knees to worship him.  
  
"No time for that now." He kindly rebuked her. "Deal with Halmu."  
  
"I will."  
  
"You will make me proud." He nodded approvingly. "No go."  
  
"I shall. But the flame blocks my way."  
  
"Not when I am with you." Zendrazane waved his hand and parted the blazing wall blocking her path.   
  
Ashatsinu's training possessed her faculties as she scouted the corridor. She saw the fire part for Halmu as he walked to the corridor. From where his eyes traveled, Ashatsinu knew that he had not yet spotted her. She rolled into the corridor and lie flat on her back with sais clenched in both hands.   
  
He stopped at her feet and called mockingly through the smoke. "Come out, Princess. Let us not make this any more painful than it has to be. You cannot fight fate. Where are you?"  
  
"Look down." Ashatsinu smirked.  
  
His gaze fell to the floor. With a move learned from sand-fighting with Arana, she brought her legs to his legs to her chest and then kicked out so that they crashed into his knees. With a scream of pain, he fell upon his shattered joints.  
  
"So, you do feel pain." She hissed. "I thought Ahl-Kemehn were impervious."  
  
His taloned hands clawed at her throat. Ashatsinu felt his long claws dig into her tender flesh and his supernatural strength strangling her. The world swam about her as Halmu squeezed the oxygen from her body with his crushing grasp. "Do you feel pain, Ashatsinu?"  
  
"Go to the Abyss." She choked on the words as her sais pierce his unbeating heart. Their eyes locked for a moment. Ice blue clashed with lucid topaz. He stared down at the sais embedded in his chest and gave her a crooked smile.  
  
"Oh Princess, these cannot hurt -" He never finished the sentences as the fires of his robes licked his skin.  
  
"Oh yes, they can. They were forged in Dragon's fire by Zendrazane. Draconic Magick makes them unbeatable. Go to the Abyss, Halmu and give her my regards you see Tiamat." Ashatsinu snarled at her fallen foe. She watched as his skin became molten and liquid, steaming from within. It became pale and aged like frail parchment and began burning like paper in flame. Portions of ash fell to the stone floor and a hollow scream filled the hall. Soon, the flames consumed the pile of cinders that had once been Halmu.  
  
Zendrazane's voice bellowed inside Ashatsinu's mind. [GO THROUGH THE DOOR AT THE END OF THE CORRIDOR AND MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE CITY WALL. GESHAM HAS FALLEN IN BATTLE AND THE SUN WILL NOT RISE SOON ENOUGH TO SAVE HIM. ARANA'S SPELL OF DARKNESS KEEPS HIM FROM BECOMING STONE. BECOME ONE WITH HIM IN BODY, MIND AND SOUL, ASHATSINU. FOR TODAY, YOU SHALL BECOME AS THE STONE KING."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Do not just stand there, girl, like a blithering idiot." Zendrazane shouted as he vanished in a bolt of lavender fire and damson smoke, the scent of lilac lingered in its wake. "Find Gesham."  
  
Ashatsinu needed no second urging. With all the strength she possessed she ran though the valley of parted flames and made her way to the city wall facing the east.  
  
Singed and burnt, Ashatsinu felt no pain as she made her way from the palace and through Amor's streets. She saw them laden with fallen comrades and burning debris. Large masses of white stone, now scorched black by the fires, fell from the skies as she scampered through the avenues toward the city walls. Screams of fear and agony filled her ears as she swiftly passed those struck down by fire and battle. Leaping over bodies of dead Sodomites, she deftly made her way to what was left of Amor's city wall.  
  
[GESHAM!] Her mind reached out to him. There were no words in reply, only an urgent beacon of primal instinct guiding her footsteps. For what seemed an endless eternity, Ashatsinu let their psionic bond guide her to her fallen mate.  
  
Gesham lay just outside the city gate with three Sodomite arrows embedded deeply within his tawny chest. His amber eyes no longer gleamed with brilliant fire, but were glazed with a murky yellow layer that dimmed his sight. Ashatsinu sobbed at the sight of her mate, dying alone in the ruins of a lethal battle. She knelt by his side. "My Love, I am here."  
  
Gesham turned in the direction her voice made hoarse by smoke, flame, and tears. "Is all well?"   
  
"Halmu is dead." She smiled through a flow of fallen tears. "I love you, Gesham."  
  
"You are a Dame in word and deed. You are a warrior of my clan."   
  
"Now you tell me that." Ashatsinu cried and laughed at the same time.  
  
He raised his bloodied hand to cupped her sooty face. "Did he set you on fire?"  
  
Ashatsinu choked back a laugh at the Gargoyle's dry humor. "He tried."  
  
"Ashatsinu, will you have me as your-?"  
  
She pressed two fingers to his lips. "Hush, we can talk soon. You need rest." She withdrew the sais stashed in the torn, dirtied, soiled rags she wore. Thinking that only a few days prior, they had once been silks and velvet fit for a princess. Remembering Zendrazane's words, she wrapped Gesham's bloodied talons around the hilts of her weaponry. "I will be your mate without hesitation or reservation. I will love you fiercely and well. Let our love endure longer than the mountain stone. But, if you dare to die on me, you winged imbecile, I vow that I will follow you to the Blessed Isle and kick your proverbial ass for dragging me through the Abyss, So help me Skylaris!"  
  
Ashatsinu remembered those fateful words not so long ago that Arana spoke to her regarding the Kiarite stones embedded in the hilts of those divine sais. "...."The stones are from the Kiari homeland from the distant stars. Part of their land felt to earth in a fiery shower upon the Kiari and DeMahri's arrival. The stone is unbreakable. No iron shall cut it and no hammer can shatter it. No fire can scorch it and no DeMahri talons can scratch it. Ptah of the Azazelites is the only one able to manipulate it in his apothecary. It is said that any warrior who has possession of such a stone is invincible. On rare occasions, Ptah bestows outstanding DeMahri warriors with the Kiss of Stone. That allows them to became Kiarite by day. Than means that they can never be shattered by normal weaponry......"  
  
Ashatsinu felt tattered folds surround her and her tears felt upon Gesham's burned cheeks. She brought her lips to his and kissed him as she had yearned to do so for many seasons. "Oh, Zendrazane, please grant us what you have promised through these sais."   
  
Had she looked upwards, she would have seen clouds part and the first rays of morning burst through the smoke and flame. Had she been aware, she would have seen an emerald-hued dragon soaring in the heavens above them, singing in the Draconic tongue, and beckoning heavy rains. Nothing mattered then to Ashatsinu but to be in the arms of her beloved warrior, Gesham. Stone sleep fell upon the Stone King and the Fire Queen.  
  
Epilogue  
  
"Fire shall reign from the balcony of Amor  
  
Engulfing the Fire Queen  
  
Kissing her love, she shall become as he  
  
Joined for all time with the Stone King.  
  
So shall he rule on in the realm  
  
All creatures shall bow in his name  
  
Wielding and embracing fire  
  
All surveyed shall be his domain."  
  
-Ancient DeMahri Prophecy  
  
The Epoch of Twilight, the Age of Taurus guided an archaic world. Before to the Tower of Babel or the time of the pyramids, fantastic creatures ruled in the night and walked amongst men. The eons of an antediluvian era have long since faded from the remembrance of Simianites. Long thought lost to History's memory, recollections of those times survived only in obscure fragments of legends and fable......   
  
Amongst the rubble and the debris, the survivors surveyed their wounded city and rejoiced. For at last, the tribe of Kenan was free of Utakku's tyranny. Kenan, made sane by the Waters of Life, passed his scepter to his beloved heir, Ashatsinu. In turn, she held it in hand and placed her husband's talons along its golden shaft. "We are one now and always. Let these words be said from my heart and all hearts for all time. Where you go so shall I go. Where you lead so shall I follow. What you are so shall I become. What you endure so shall we transcend. You and I are one, now and always, Gesham."  
  
"My Love." He cradled her bronzed face in his gigantic taloned hand. His amber eyes were bright with unshed tears.  
  
"My King." She kissed his palm and smiled. "I love you."  
  
Hence, on the night of the full moon, the Stone King reigned over all he surveyed. With Fire in his heart, he reigned as a wise and just sovereign for a century. The allied rulers of Eridu, Ur, Amor and Gomorrah signed a treaty and became the mightiest alliance in the region. DeMahri, Simianites and Humans mingled freely with one another and knew each other body and soul. They took mates from amongst themselves and produced heroes and heroines of old, men and women of great renown. In tribute to those fallen, which gave of themselves in great sacrifice, a mighty obelisk made of the finest granite, some say crafted by Zendrazane, memorialized and celebrated the Victory of Amor.  
  
All of the rulers signed a treaty and became a great and mighty nation. DeMahri, Simianites and Humans mingled freely with one another and knew each other body and soul. They took mates from amongst themselves and produced heroes and heroines of old, men and women of great renown. Under the light of a full moon, Gesham the Stone King and his Queen of Fire were coronated as sovereigns of the realm. In tribute to those fallen, who gave of themselves in great sacrifice, a mighty obelisk made of the finest granite memorialized and celebrated the Victory of Amor.  
  
What became of the great warriors and heroes of this saga, you ask, Dear Reader? Jubah became Gesham's grand vizier. Ancient hieroglyphs on Skylarianite temple walls tell how Hectus became Skylaris' first Simianite high priest. Zillah and her army of Amazons led the war against Sodom, causing its fall. She died a valiant heroine in battle in those later years. Arana faded into the annals of history and became a shamaness of great legend. It is said that she traveled to the kingdom of Chin and brought the Gargoyle Way to the humans of the region, but no one knows. (Zendrazane, also known as Ptah) the god of metal smiths and craftsmen, and one of the greatest deities of what later was known as Egypt. The ancient tales of Gargoyle legend state that he dwells in the Shadowlands, protecting the souls of slain gargoyles. It has been prophesied that he shall walk the earth again someday, reunite with his beloved Skylaris, and they shall return the DeMahri to their former greatness.  
  
However, as all things must, the season of change falls upon all and eras end. Amor became the center of trade, and the DeMahri ruled for a century before the gods' fell and a new age came to pass. Ancient legends still speak of how Sodom and Gomorrah fell, how Lott's mate looked back and became salt and how fire rained from the skies that fateful night. The heroes and heroines of great renown angered a young, jealous deity and he flooded the realm with waters of wrath rather than Waters of Life. It is thought that over two hundred thousand DeMahri were lost in the Deluge, but once more, the mists of time and legend mask long-lost truths.  
  
Ashatsinu and Gesham gave the world many children that became champions of the Greater Good. One of their line settled in Nubia and became the first of many in a grand Matriarchal line of Queens. It is whispered amongst the Linoma clan that this is why Elisa Maza-Wyvern is so favored by Skylaris. Perhaps the good detective is a direct descendant of two fierce, proud warriors. It would also explain why she is so sweet on Goliath. Only Goddess knows. It is also stated that the eldest of Gesham and Ashatsinu's progeny, a DeMahri warrior named Apsu, made his way north and east beyond the Red Sea and the Western ocean with his mate and several of the Clan of Ahp Druingra. Tales of the Ancient Celts say that winged beings from the east settled on a small island and lived in the northern tors of a land the named Cale Eden. The Romans later integrated the name into their own language and it became known as Caledonia. Still curious, are you, dear Reader? Caledonia is the Latin name for Scotland. It is my humble theory that the Scottish clans that I know and love come from that brave, ancient bloodline of Ashatsinu and Gesham. If Skylaris tells me, it will be our little secret.  
  
The Sais? What became of the Sais, you ask? They were, indeed, found in a temple of Skylaris during an archeological dig sponsored by David Xanatos. They now rest in a display case in Xanatos' castle near the Tome of Tacitus and the Grimorum Arcanorim. They await the day when a daughter from the lineage of Gesham and Ashatsinu shall again take them in hand to vanquish evil in the world.  
  
Until Twilight descends, my friends, may Skylaris bless you and keep you in the Gargoyle Way.  
  
Your most humble servant,  
  
Daria Damson  
  
-Fini 


End file.
